Survivors recall deadly attack led by expelled student

Survivors of Lokichogio gun attack in Turkana County, who were discharged from hospital on Saturday, have recounted the events of the fateful day.

Recalling their ordeal in the hands of five attackers from South Sudan, six of the eight survivors said they were lucky to be alive.

Six of their colleagues and a security guard were killed in the attack that lasted three hours.

ATTACKERS

Speaking to journalists at the Eldoret International Airport before boarding their flight to Lodwar, the students said they had forgiven their attackers.

“We were woken up by a loud bang on the door of the classroom that also acts as our dormitory. The attackers came in and shot dead some of our colleagues who seemed to be the target. This happened so fast but we noticed one of us, Abraham Lochor, was the mastermind of the attack,” said 19-year-old Joshua Ekal.

Ekal, who sustained bullet wounds on his right leg, narrated how the attackers went straight to the girls’ dormitory where they are said to have raped some of the students.

“We thank God for saving our lives and all those who came to our rescue. We know that the Devil used one of us to cause mayhem but we have since forgiven him,” added Ekal.

Sandra Awoi, who was shot on the left leg, recalled that Lochor had discipline issues since joining the school in January after sitting the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education examination at Lokichogio Primary School.

RUDE

She said the school principal Samuel Ewoi used to send Lochor home for indiscipline including an incident in which he attempted to rough up a female teacher.

“Lochor was very rude to fellow students and the teachers. He used to brag that he is an ex-military officer with the Sudan People Liberation Army,” she said.

Lochor, according to Awoi, had been warned by the principal not to carry a mobile phone to the school as it was against the institution’s rules but he defied the directive.

Dismas Emure, who suffered a gunshot wound in the right leg before he underwent surgery to remove the bullet, accused the police of taking five hours to come to their rescue despite the fact that the station was just about seven kilometres from the learning institution.

“I am glad to be going back home in stable condition and I will be reporting back to school in January when the new term starts,” said Emure, a Form One student.

Lochor, a South Sudanese, had been expelled from school due to indiscipline before returning to carry out the attack on his fellow students.

The attacker, who led another four armed men, had first shot dead the school’s guard, a Kenya police reservist who tried to repulse him and his accomplices, before they entered the classrooms where the boys were sleeping.

In a deadly turn, angry residents pulled Lochor out of a police station at Kakuma refugee camp and lynched him.