Seizure of arms cache stirs up sleepy town

Quiet Narok finally hits the headlines,
but for all the
wrong reasons

Despite its proximity to the capital and being the gateway to the world famous Maasai Mara game reserve, Narok has remained a quiet, dusty and sleepy town.

Not even the ongoing wrangling about the conservation of the Mau Forest have stirred it up.

But things changed on December 7, last year. On that day, Narok was thrown into the spotlight when a large cache of ammunition and military hardware were discovered right in the middle of the town.

Broadcast media went live with the news of the huge recovery, with journalists reporting from the scene of the recovery. Newspapers splashed the news the following day.

Six guns, 100,000 rounds of ammunition, military boots and other gear had been found at the home of a resident. The bullets haul could, it was reported, run a big city police station for a whole year!

It was now the turn of the residents to find out more about the man from whose home the weapons were recovered.

Mr Munir Ishmael, 36, is from a wealthy family, but he never flaunted his privileged background. He participated in local social functions and at one time almost married a local girl. The man is associated with a number of businesses, including petrol retailing and long range transport of goods.

Throughout December and January the town basked in unwanted limelight as the case against Mr Ishmael and his co-accused came before court.

Another cache

Then last Sunday word went round again that another cache of arms had been discovered at Mr Ishmael’s garage.

Shocked wananchi flocked to the garage in the town centre to see the munitions. But their attempts were rebuffed by heavily armed police officers. Journalists camped at the premises hoping to take pictures in vain.

Police officers guarded the premises throughout Sunday night, insisting that the containers would only be opened after the arrival of Mr Ishmael and top police bosses.

On Monday, there were rumours that Mr Ishmael’s other premises at Lenana in the northern suburb of the town harboured even more arms.

Journalists kept shuffling between the new station and the garage in the town for the better part of the day not knowing when the containers would be opened.

At around 3pm, a police helicopter began circling the town, bringing business to a standstill. Residents who earlier minded their own business closed shop and thronged the action scene.

Mr Ishmael landed in the company of Police Commissioner Matthew Iteere.

Amid shouts from angry residents, Mr Ishmael was whisked away to the safety of his garage. Mr Iteere led the opening of the containers and the counting of the rounds of ammunition. The counting took about one and half hours and yielded 31,211 rounds of ammunition.

As the cameras rolled and photojournalists clicked a way, Mr Iteere explained that the arms, of varying calibres, were manufactured by the bullet factory at Eldoret, while others were from the Czech Republic.

Later as the contingent left the garage, Mr Ishmael, who was in a blue T-shirt and a pair of jeans, was seen waving at the public and at one point he was overheard saying: “Pray for me so that I can come out soon.”

His coolness and calm seemed to have angered the residents who began throwing stones at the police commissioner’s motorcade as it headed to Mr Ishmael’s Lenana premises.

Police had to use tear gas to disperse the crowd which wanted to lynch Mr Ishmael. The public also threatened to burn some of his business premises in the town.

However, the containers at Lenana yielded nothing.

And as the police commissioner flew out of the town, residents were left asking how the arms got to the town and where they were headed.

Even Internal Security minister George Saitoti’s assurance on Tuesday left a bitter taste in the mouths of many residents who did not know whether to believe a government which has been caught napping too many times.