Police to prosecute two over Bura Division killing

Xinhua
Sunday, February 12, 2012

The Kenyan authorities said on Saturday they have finalized investigations on self improvised explosives in northern Kenya where two people are likely to face prosecutions next week.

Police spokesman Eric Kiraithe told journalists in Nairobi that the police are on high alert to fight crime-related activities linked to Al-Shabaab especially in Moyale in northeast Kenya which has suffered landmine and grenade attacks in the recent past.

"We have finalized investigations into the sporadic shooting that was witnessed in Garissa and will soon take to court two key suspects," Kiraithe said.

At least two people were killed and 20 others seriously injured last Wednesday when clashes erupted in Bura division of northeast Kenya.

Area District Commissioner Rashid Khator said the inter-clan clashes started as an argument between two individuals over the ownership of farm group piece of land that sits along River Tana slowly degenerated into arguments which in turn led to the clashes.

The incident completely paralyzed transport on the busy Garissa- Fafi road with buses plying the road being forced to go back to Garissa for fear of being attacked.

The injured that had cuts on their bodies were quickly rushed to Garissa provincial general hospital for specialized treatment.

Clashes over pieces of land are common in Garissa County with several people loosing their lives and scores getting injured as a result.

But speaking on Saturday, Kiraithe expressed confidence that the state security is stable and the internal security organs do not anticipate any attacks.

Kiraithe, however urged Kenyans to be vigilant in security matter since certain areas considered as soft spots can easily attract terror attacks from Al-Shabaab.

"With internal vigilance, we are capable of preventing these attacks," he said, adding that security agents and Northern Kenya leaders will work together to further stabilize security in the region

There has been a string of attacks by Al-Shabaab militants and their sympathizers since Kenya sent troops into Somalia in October 2011 to subdue the insurgents who were blamed for a series of murders and kidnappings on the Kenya soil with Daadab district which hosts the refugee camps being one of the worst hit by the attacks.

More than ten security officers have been killed in eleven attacks that have occurred in the northeastern region, while more than 20 people have also lost their lives in a series of landmine or grenade attacks in the region.

Kiraithe said that the recent Moyale clashes are a result of criminal activity motivated by local politics ahead of the general elections later this year.

"We are still conducting investigations and once we complete we take all those involved including politicians to court as there are no sacred cows," he said.

Kiraithe said no one will be spared if found to have been involved in the Moyale clan clashes.

And those mentioned in connection with the recent tribal clashes which left scores of people dead and hundreds more displaced will be prosecuted regardless of their political affiliation or status in government.

"We are concretizing evidence against certain individuals before we charge them in court," he said.

Kiraithe warned leaders against incitements saying no one who played a role in clashes will spared once investigations are complete.

Aid agencies said earlier that latest inter-communal clashes in Moyale has left some 60 people dead and displaced thousands others in recent months in reprisal attacks linked to rivalry over pasture, cattle rustling and local politics.

The UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the clashes between the Borana and Gabra around Moyale town, on the border with Ethiopia, have forced more than 20,000 people across the border into Ethiopia.

The Kenya Defense Force (KDF)’s Director of Military Operations Information Colonel Cyrus Oguna said the military is doing all it can to ensure the release of the two kidnapped government officials.

"Every effort is in place to ensure they return home safely," he told journalists during its weekly briefing in Nairobi.

On Jan. 13, Al-Shabaab fighters stormed an Administration Police camp at Garile in Wajir South, some 7 kilometers from the border with Somalia, killing six people and abducted the two government officials including two government officials.

The Al-Qaeda allied terror group later released the photos of Fredrick Irungu who is an Immigration Clerk and Edward Mule, a District Officer who were abducted along with two Administration Police Officers at Gerille town in Wajir South.

Oguna said that the KDF will only intervene in Moyale clashes when the internal security organs have failed.