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Tension high as clash victims buried
THE SUNDAY STANDARD
Sunday April 8, 2007
By Amos Kareithi and Isaiah Lucheli
Emotions ran high during the burial of some of the victims of the Mt Elgon clashes.
The burial of the six victims killed at Kapsokwony on Sunday was conducted on Saturday against a background of outrage and fear.
More families trooped out of the epicentre of the conflict, Chebyuk. A fight broke out in one of the homes, briefly disrupting the burial of Kelvin Kirong, 12, at Chemworemwo village, when a grieving sister blamed a relative for the death.
The wailing woman demanded to know why the relative had escaped during the fateful night, leaving the children who were later butchered.
"Tafadhali waombolezaji tutulie. Hii ni jambo la kawaida mtu kukasirika kwa sababu ya uchungu. Tutulie (Please, mourners let’s remain calm. This is an ordinary thing for a mourner to be angry. Let us calm down)," pleaded the master of ceremonies.
As the mourners scanned the horizons fearing there might be a raid, scores of families with their belongings piled on donkeys and public service vehicles fled for safety.
Some relatives from Kelvin’s clan travelled to the dreaded Chebyuk to inter the remains of two other children who were also killed on the same day.
Outpouring of grief
The Cherobei assistant chief grieved as he took remains of two of his children, Kelvin Ndiwa and Felix Kibet, who were killed by raiders in his rental houses at Kapsokwony.
Ironically, the assistant chief had relocated his children to Kapsokwony to protect them from the violence that has engulfed many parts of Mt Elgon.
There was an outpouring of grief as speakers wondered for how long the two parties in the conflict, the Soi and Dorobo, would continue to fight.
"We cannot just sit and kill each other. The time has come for both parties to go to the negotiation table. This matter no longer concerns land. What land was being sought from a 12 year-old boy at Kapsokwony?" Mr Dicks Naibei, a resident posed.
The Kaptur clan has lost more than 100 people since the clashes erupted. A spot-check in other affected regions showed that all residents of Mt Elgon District are living in fear of attacks following the clandestine distribution of leaflets in Chebyuk, Kopsiro, and Cheptais.
At the Kenya-Uganda border, Uganda People’s Defence force has tightened its grip on the crossing points following an influx of fleeing Kenyans.
At Chepkube, fully uniformed military personnel are guarding Lwakhakha River, where they are demanding papers from Kenyans crossing in search of
safety.
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