It’s a dog’s life for wives and children of Baragoi suspects on the run

Kenya Red Cross Samburu County coordinator Gitonga M’Mugambi attends to Nkito Lolekan at Nawapeto manyatta in Baragoi on November 23, 2012. She was injured while fleeing the police crackdown. Photo/SULEIMAN MBATIAH

What you need to know:

  • Families uprooted from their manyattas by violent raids accuse government of neglect

Eupua Eyanae keeps on cursing the government every time she sees aircraft flying above their newly established manyatta.

She does not even remember that it is the men from the same manyatta who attacked a team of security officers on a mission to recover stolen cattle, killing more than 40.

“We are now tired of these aircraft following us everywhere we go as we have to keep on comforting our children who are now traumatised,” Mrs Eyanae (left) told Saturday Nation at Nawapeto manyatta, which is being targeted by government security forces.

It is here that the rustlers who fell police officers during Baragoi Massacre are residing.

The settlement is in a bush at the foot of Kawab Hill— more than 25 kilometres from Baragoi town.

The pastoralists settled here after walking in the wilderness for eight days, with choppers from the police and Kenya Defence Forces monitoring their movements.

To Mrs Eyanae and her female colleagues in the manyatta, it has been hell on earth since October 31 when the rustlers killed 12 raiders from Samburu community. The families previously lived at Lomerok Village.

The raiders had come to recover the cattle that the Turkana rustlers had stolen from them. Read (How I survived raid that killed 42 policemen)

Although the Samburus managed to steal more than 200 camels from them, they did not recover a single head of cattle.

“After the incident, we all moved away from the village to another area near Lomerok, where we pitched tent and since we left in a hurry, we did not carry some of our belongings,” she explains.

She adds that before they had even settled in their newly established manyatta, security officers invaded them jointly with Samburu home guards.

This was on November 10 when the security officers were sprayed with bullets by the Turkana rustlers.

Kept on hovering

Again the residents of Lomerok were displaced.

“We did not carry anything with us apart from our livestock,” she said.

And while walking in the bush with their animals, running away from the area, Mrs Eyanae recounts that several choppers kept on hovering over their heads, making them and their children to panic.

“At times we would all scatter to different directions but, we, the women had to make sure that we did not leave our children behind. It has been one of the most traumatising moments in our lives,” she said.

What is causing more misery to the residents of Nawapeto manyatta is that they have been isolated by the government, which they say has branded them a bad people.

On Wednesday when the Saturday Nation visited the place accompanied by Turkana elders and two Kenya Red Cross volunteers, residents said they were starving and their children had started suffering from malnutrition.

“We don’t know what to tell our children who are asking for food every time,” Mrs Eyanae said.

Rift Valley PC Osman Warfa said the government would not deny such people food and other humanitarian aid.

Kenya Red Cross coordinator in Samburu Gitonga M’Mugambi visited the manyatta on Thursday where they treated several people.

Some had gunshot wounds but the residents declined to discuss the issue of the injuries with the press.

Mrs Eyanae said their troubles may multiply since the government had started sending chief to their manyattas to plead with their young men to return guns they stole from the police during the massacre.

“A chief with uniform is a symbol of death here and once they come, our children cannot even swallow food.” The women urged the government to assure them of their security.