Landmines leave trail of misery in NEP

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By Boniface Ongeri

In a paediatric ward in Garissa General Hospital, 13-year-old Samuel Mutinda his brother Peter, 13,

Samuel Mutinda and his brother Peter were injured in a grenade attack in Garissa. [PHOTOS: BONIFACE ONGERI/STANDARD]

lay on a bed, waiting for a delicate operation to remove shrapnel from their bodies.

Their faces were scarred by burns, and their limbs were heavily bandaged.

Last month, the two boys were in their house inside a church compound when suspected Al Shabaab members hurled a grenade inside.

Their nine-year-old sister Joy Mwende was killed instantly.

They learned of her demise much later.

The little children are among scores of people including security personnel and civilians killed or injured by explosives planted or hurled by suspected militants in the last two months.

The hospital has received at least 20 cases since Kenya launched the war against the militants in Somalia. Hospitals in Wajir and Mandera have also received their share of bombing victims.

While civilians have been victims of grenades hurled at them, security officers have borne the brunt of landmines buried on the earth roads.

Although one grenade explosion linked to Al Shabaab took place in Nairobi, the attacks in the region appear to be sustained.

It is a new phenomenon that has caught many unprepared. Residents are now saying they are paying for the poor infrastructure in the region, because it is easy to plant mines on dirt roads.

In some areas, people are scared of venturing out with their livestock in search of pasture.

"If we had tarmacked roads of the casualties could have been minimised", said Abdi Hassan, a resident of Mandera.

"It is easy to dig the earth roads and plant the explosives just like seeds. Since Independence, we have cried out to subsequent governments to tarmack the roads but they have failed. Now we fear for our lives," he said.

Out of the more than 16,000km road network in the region, only 20km is tarmacked. Besides the deaths and injuries, the explosives could seriously retard development in a region that is trying to play catch up with the rest of the country.

Already, trade has been affected with hotel business slowing down. "People are avoiding social places and hotels," James Chege, whose hotel was hit, said. "Business has been bad since the attack," he added. Two people were killed.

The attacks have burst the peace and tranquillity bubbles the region has enjoyed since the banditry activities of the 1990s ended.

Being close to Somalia, North Eastern Province is an easy target for the militants to commit bold attacks and head back to Somalia.

Identity marks

"The situation is even made difficult because the attackers have no identity marks to set them apart from the rest of us," a resident commented.

As a result, any attempt to carry out a swoop around the scenes is usually greeted with claims of harassment and human rights abuses.

After years of instability in Somalia, the county is awash with weapons that easily find their way into Kenya via North Eastern Province.

Area provincial police boss Leo Nyongesa said bomb experts are still trying to identify the type of explosives that were used and their country of origin.

However, he said the idea and tactics are largely borrowed from Iraq and Afghanistan. The US has been battling militants there for the past decade. In Afghanistan, explosions caused by Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) have caused untold suffering. The homemade devices are usually buried in the sand.

In the recent deaths, security officers died when their vehicles were blown apart by mines. However, in one case, a policeman died when he stepped out of a vehicle. He was among several policemen who were escorting aid workers through the refugee camp.

Before the Kenya Defence Forces ventured into Somalia, a raid by Administration Police in Dadaab Refugee Camp seized an assortment of weapons including grenades.

This seemed to prove that some refugees were co-operating with the militants.

Landmines are among the cruellest weapons in use today. This is because often, they target non-combatants, and can have serious effects on productivity of a region as people keep away to avoid death.

Cause mayhem

Sweeping an area of landmines is also very expensive. They can last for many years without detonating, only to hurt people who had nothing to do with a conflict.

However, it is noteworthy that not all attacks are linked Al Shabaab. Police say investigations suggest that some people are taking advantage of the fighting to sow mayhem.

This was confirmed by Police Spokesman Eric Kiraithe who says each attack has to be seen within its own context. He said some people could carry out attacks, and make it look like the work of the militants.

After a church in Garissa was raided, Kiraithe absolved Al-Shabaab.

Before the series of attacks started, a section of leaders especially in Garissa were issuing remarks bordering on incitement. One of the leaders reportedly advised locals with business premises not to lease them out to "oustiders."

The politicians’ grouse was that the non-locals were introducing ‘weird cultures’.