LOST FLOCK

Bishop Silvanus Ngota returned to where he had sat barely 24 hours earlier with his flock in Uhuru Park, hoping everything was a bad dream.

On Sunday, he had come to Uhuru Park with about 10 members of his Life and Word Mission of Kenya Church in Kawangware, hoping to attend peaceful prayers.

But before the end, he left for downtown Nairobi, promising to return and pick up his flock for the trip back home. He never found them.

Bloody scenes

Instead, he was met with bloody scenes, people running helter-skelter all over the place. “I was shocked,” he said. At the place where his flock sat? Only pools of blood.

Near the dais where guests sat? Shouting from people in pain and anguish. “I ran around haphazardly, went to hospital (Kenyatta), but I have yet to find my church members,” he said, frustration written all over his face.

On Monday, he returned to Uhuru Park early in the morning hoping to trace some of his flock — or at least learn where they could be — dead or alive.

Failing to find any clues, he wandered about in the expansive park, walking from one end of Processional Way to the other — speaking to himself.

“If such brutal force can be used to silence those opposed to the constitution, then I would rather we forget about the whole process,” he said.

Fresh blood

The arrival of top government officials led by Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka saddened him so much he chose to quickly leave the scene. “I wish they could help me find my people,” he mumbled to himself.

Meanwhile, hundreds of people who had converged on the park spoke in low tones in small groups, many wearing sad faces.
There was a lot of fresh blood all over the park, yet to be dried by the sunshine.

In the area where the first explosive is said to have gone off was a woman’s shoe. Next to it lay a man’s right shoe. The two unmatched shoes in a pool of blood were a poignant reminder of the previous night’s brutal happenings.

At the second blast site, there was a small hole, clearly showing the mark left by the explosive. A nylon bag lay next to it, which ordinary people carelessly scrutinised as police had not cordoned off the area.

At the third blast site, onlookers claimed the explosive had been targeted at people close to the dais. About 100 metres from one of the blast sites, a man was found dead at the steering wheel of his car. He had taken the impact of the blast in the side and still had his car keys clutched in his hands.