Billow Kerrow on the lack of Social Justice for Somali Kenyans

OPINION

Social justice for the people of northern Kenya is still a mirage

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By BILLOW KERROW

Posted  Wednesday, April 27 2011 at 18:46

In the past one week, the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) has been in North-Eastern Kenya getting a first-hand account of over 45 years of official neglect, deprivation and social injustice visited upon the residents by successive regimes.

The emotional outpouring by the residents has largely been unnoticed nationally, save for the media focus on the monstrous atrocities such as the Wagalla Massacre.

Brutal security operations continue unabated, and even as the Commission was being set up in 2008, security forces tortured and maimed several hundreds in Mandera.

Section 27(6) of the Constitution requires the State to take affirmative measures and policies to “redress any disadvantage suffered by individuals or groups because of past discrimination”.

However, the Commission should pay greater attention to the prevailing social injustice rather than being fixated on historical injustices.

This week, they will be in Mandera County that is reeling from the effects of the worst drought this decade.

Hundreds face death as a result of extreme hunger and thirst, while their economic livelihoods, namely livestock, continue to perish.

The government has a constitutional obligation to provide adequate food and water to all its citizens, without discrimination, among other socio-economic rights outlined in Section 46.

For the marginalised, Section 56 further mandates the government to provide infrastructure, such as boreholes, schools and health facilities as fundamental human rights.

As Indian writer and activist, Arundhati Roy argues, the assault on social justice has eroded its definition, made us lower our sights and curtail our expectations.

The notion of equality has undergone a process of attrition and eased out of equation.

He argues that these human rights violations are increasingly portrayed as unfortunate fallouts from an otherwise acceptable political and economic system.

The TJRC members’ mandate includes investigating the marginalisation of communities, and providing redress where necessary.

Will they order the government to immediately declare the ravaging famine in the region a national disaster and help halt the region’s march to devastation?

They are aware that the region’s youth cannot obtain identity cards due to official

The Kenya Human Rights Commission, in its 2009 publication titled “Foreigners at home – the dilemma of citizenship in Northern Kenya”, accuses the government of institutionalised discrimination on the itizenship of the residents through arbitrary denial.

Can TJRC urgently address this? Section 10 of the Constitution deems that social justice, equity and protection of the marginalised are national values that must be applied whenever State organs implement public policy decisions. Will the up-coming recruitment of 7,000 policemen be done equitably?

Section 232 on public service jobs demands that the State affords ‘‘adequate and equal opportunities and representation of diverse communities’’ in appointments, training and advancement.

Representation is best reflected through the regional, county or constituency population, which roughly mirrors our ethnic diversity.

Based on the 2009 census, and without the affirmative action “privilege” for minorities as proposed by Mr Orwa Ojodeh in Parliament, Nairobi would take 569 jobs, Central 795 Rift Valley 1,814 and North-Eastern 419 jobs.

This is arrived at by dividing the region or county’s population by the national population, and multiplying by the 7,000 jobs.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission Bill 2011 is also in violation of Section 250 of the Constitution as regards the composition of the commissioners.

The section stipulates unequivocally that appointments to constitutional commissions and independent offices “shall reflect regional and ethnic diversity of the people of Kenya”.

The Bill suggests that five commissioners be appointed now, and four others in a year’s time.

Which region will play second fiddle to the other? Not North-Eastern, please!

Mr Kerrow, a former Mandera Central MP, is a political economist.

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Malkamarre Massacre in Mandera

  More details of the Moi regime's gross human rights violation in NEP are emerging. Survivors of the Malkamarre Massacre in Mandera described the horrific ordeal they went through at the hands of the Paleolithic tyrant [Moi] and his goons in1982.

 In scenes reminiscent of Nazi Germany, Moi's henchmen put victims in incarceration camps, murdered 332 innocent civilians, mutilated the bodies of the dead and the living, raped women and children and confiscated livestock worth millions of Shillings.

 If I remember correctly, 1982 is the year the glumpy faced pig of a leader, Daniel Moi, was saved from the guillotine by a Nepian by the name General Mahmoud. How dare he reward us with such tyranny?
Also, and I say this with no hint of 'qabaliya' or malevolence, weren't General Mahmoud and Moi  the Batman and Robin of the 80s? And why didn't the former stand up for his people?

Here is an excerpt from The Daily Nation's report;

More than 330 people were killed during the 1982 Malkamarre Massacre in Mandera, the Truth commission has been told.
Survivors, testifying before the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission at its hearings in Mandera Town, on Tuesday, said scores of people were also raped and maimed during the 1982 security operation.
Mr Issack Adow Abdi, 80, said they were rounded up by security officers hunting down bandits, beaten and some shot dead as they attempted to escape.
“I have not sired a child due to the painful torture I underwent as the officers mutilated my private organs,” Mr Abdi said.
The victims, he said, never sought legal redress, since the nearest law court was located some 400km from Mandera Town.
The commission heard that many, who witnessed the heinous acts, fled to Ethiopia and Somalia and decided not to return to Kenya.
Ms Dunia Abdullahi said many women were raped in Lulis, Banisa and Elmole in Mandera West District.
“Women in this area silently share the stories of how they were raped, some say they cannot hold back urine to date,” Ms Abdullahi said.
She said some of her relatives were killed while others fled to Ethiopia.
Asked by Commissioner Gertrude Chawatama if they could recall the officers who headed the operation, they said they only remembered a Major Halkano of the Kenya Army.
Victims of the Shifta war also recounted their ordeal before security officers put them in concentration camps.
“It was hell. We were pressed between two rocks — the shiftas killed, maimed and looted our property since we refused to join them while the Kenyan forces did worse instead of pursuing our tormentors,” Mr Guliye Mohamed said.

Quick Hits: Matatu fares & Boda Boda problems

   As inflationary forces march on, matatu fares have fallen victim to its money-fleecing ways. Fares have risen by 50% in all routes. Now a ride costs 30 bob, up from the usual 20 Shs.

                                       *****

Friends, we all know Garissa has been growing by leaps and bounds lately but this growth has brought with it a whole new set of maladies. No, I'm not talking about drugs or excessively high property prices or the population boom. Its the Boda Boda industry and all the ailments that have come with it. The operators have no particular training and are the cause of many injuries and sometimes deaths.

A tipster e-mailed me about the recent death of a youngster after getting run-over by a Boda Boda. Another youth is in critical condition in the Garissa Provincial General Hospital after he was injured in a similar circumstance.

Its time these guys get dealt with.

Racism rears its ugly head in Kamkunji polls

 Given how freaked out everyone is about the issue of tribalism, you'd think rabble-rousing, former Matatu tout, Brian Weke of Narc Kenya, would think twice before he tastelessly referred to Somalis as "outsiders". Most reasonable people with access to the internet and Google, know Somalis were in Eastleigh long before Luhya's ever crossed the Congo River.

In an interview, the failed Matatu tout is quoted to have said;

“It will be a clear race between the people who were born in Kamukunji and others who have come    later.”

Who can blame him. He is the product of the bland and unimaginative Matatu industry and was probably hounded out of it by the constant bullying from Mungiki. The one problems is, this guy thinks he is electable. Mouthing such racist epithets is his way of solidifying his political bona fides with the Somaliphobes in Kamkunji. Sadly, this won't work for him since Somalis dominate Kamkunji economically and numerically (Even the daily nation admits to this).

Both ODM and PNU have condemned the racism laden statements. Now its you, the reader's, time to stuff Ms. Martha Karua's inbox with angry reactions and requests for an apology from the man running on her party's ticket. She has an interactive twitter acct @Martha_W_Karua or  http://facebook.com/MarthaKarua.

Real Full Story here.

It's Police Recruitment Season Again!

 This Wednesday, April 27, 2011 is another chance for the post-pubescent children of Garissa to run exceptionally long distances and do a lot of other meaningless physical activities in an effort to join The Police Force. This year, the soulless recruitment process will lock out a lot more applicants since the grade requirements have been raised from a D plain to a C plain.

We all have untoward preconceptions about the Police Recruitment system and deservedly so. Its cruel, corrupt and non-meritocratic. Finagling and God-father sponsorship are the paradigm that predominate in this process. However, NEP PC, Ole Sirian [accused of participating in the Wagalla Massacre], is promising a clean and  "ethnically" balanced recruitment drive.

He is quoted by The Nairobi Star to have said:

This time round it won’t be business as usual for those who like using shortcuts. Let’s totally avoid corruption of any kind when conducting this exercise and do it in a professional way,” “The issue of clans is a very big one in this region and so in places where we have more than one clan, you will have to make sure that you balance and make sure that you distribute the slots equally. This is meant to avoid creating the impression that the recruitment only favoured members from one clan,” he added.

To all those who want to join the ranks of the masters of emasculated beggertude, I wish you nothing but the best. Your prayers for secure jobs will be answered by cold and dull stares from the eyes of overweight DCs, OCPDs and psychotic APs.

Finally, if you see, hear or sniff any corruption, flip on ur cellphone camera/audio and send me the grainy videos.
 Good Luck and inform all those who want to try out!  Read full story here.

Breaking News: Several Injured in Clashes around Animal Market

  Several casualties were admitted to the Garissa Provincial General Hospital following clashes that took place in bulla Medina. Police are combing the neighborhood looking for suspects and urging calm.

A number of residents from the area whom I've contacted in the past 20 minutes have given me conflicting reasons and storylines. I don't tread lightly into conjecture about this sort of tragedy, but speculation is, the clashes were land and clan related.

We'll update you if and when we learn of any new developments. You can send us tips at garissacity@yahoo.com or  http://facebook.com/GarissaCity

KTN Insults Somali Culture, Again!

 It's a long, winding road from the crucible of some third rate college to a media house. But Saida Swaleh seems to have made the leap before she learnt anything. In some horseshit clip purporting to be a study of Somali culture, this brain-addled bimbo serves up  the usual racism that has become the trademark of KTN and The Standard Media Group in general. She dabbles in propagating stereotypes, spreading unfounded lies, insulting Islam and belittling Somali culture. For someone who claims to be a Muslim, this scumbag of a reporter is as Bipolar { the ending was somewhat conciliatory}as they come.

What I like the most about the video is the Gentleman in the Raila-esque cap who said:

 "Unaona hii nyumba. Zamani ni ya Mkikuyu, sasa ni ya Wariya"

Fucking deal with it bitch. We are successful because we work harder than any of you retarded morons. Gotta love it though. No one gets the adoons as cranky as we do.

Two Somalis Face-Off for Kamkunji Seat. Windbag Simon Mbugua loses to Yussuf Hassan for PNU Ticket

 Former Matatu tout and all-round blowhard, Simon Mbugua, lost to Yussuf Hassan for the Kamkunji PNU ticket thus ensuring a Somali face-off for the Kamkunji seat.

To Simon Mbugua, we say Good riddance!

The Nairobi Star Reports:

Yusuf Hassan Abdi is the PNU alliance candidate for Kamukunji after trouncing former MP Simon Mbugua in primaries held yesterday. Yusuf garnered 460 votes against Mbugua's 345 in a peaceful election held under tight security.
Returning officer Titus Ibui declared Yusuf the winnner at 4.30pm amid jubilation from his supporters who had thronged the Bomas of Kenya in Nairobi.
An elated Yusuf could not hide is joy as this has accorded him the opportunity to seek a seat he lost to Mbugua in 2007.“I want to invite by rival Simon Mbugua to join me in the campaigns for the PNU allaince to clinch this seat,” Yusuf said.
On Wednesday, the primaries were put off after Mbugua led his supporers in disrupting the exercise while demanding the electoral college to adopt acclamation.
However, yesterday a contingent of over 300 regular and APs led by Lang'ata OCPD Rono Bunei manned the exercise, effectively ensuring no interruption. The PNU candidate will face ODM's Ibrahim Ahmed aka 'Johny' and Narc Kenya's Brian Weke.
After the results were announced, Mbugua left the tallying centre silently without uttering a word and it was not clear if he had conceded defeat.
Yesterday, Yusuf expresed confidence of capturing the Kamukunji by-election on May 23 saying he represented change in development strategies."I intend to fight a good fight and win and I want to thank all the supporters and people of Kamkunji for nominating me," he said.
The use of the electoral college system yesterday was a milestone for PNU since this is the fisrt time such method has been applied. Returning officer Titus Ibui plauded the method saying that its is the most transparent system devoid of any rigging or anomalies.
All parties participating in the by-election were supposed to complete their nominations yesterday, and return their nomination papers to the IIEC by April 26.
The win by Yusuf, is likely to make the by election an interesting as main parties ODM, PNU and Narc Kenya flex their muscles once again.
Prime Minister Raila Odinga, Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka and Gichugu MP Martha Karua will lead the campaigns for the three parties respectively.

Wagalla Massacre Victims Want Hussein "Maendeleo" Questioned

  He is not going to like this. Former Dujis MP and Klepto-Minister for Life, Hussein Maalim, has been mentioned in the same breath as those who were responsible for the horrible massacre of innocent Somalis in Wajir in 1984. Witnesses alleged the former Minister played a role in the massacre and should thus face inquiry over his actions, The Nairobi Star reports.

According to my own sources who know the guy and meet him regularly, he is said to be suffering from clinical depression since his ouster in 2007.

 Look, Mr. Minister, don't get us wrong, the transition from an illiterate autocrat MP to just another old Somali man wearing a three-storey Kofia can be a bit difficult. Seriously though, take care of yourself. Exercise regularly, read the Qur'an {it helps with depression} and take a hobby, like playing "Shax/jar" under some abaq. Or pay the old "fadhi kudirir" a visit. And by the way, if and when you go to prison, invite the whole crew of "Wayaha Cusub" to help in chasing away the blues. I'm sure you can afford the bill.

Here is an excerpt from The Nairobi Star's article

Former Cabinet minister and Dujis MP Hussein Maalim should be questioned among potential witnesses to the Wagalla massacre, the TJRC was told.
Ismail Bishar a witness who was in Wagalla when the 1984 massacre happened, told the Commission that Maalim was then Minister for Provincial Administration. “Maalim should be questioned alongside M M Tiema who was acting DC, C M Wabwire who was the OCPD and a Mr Wachira who was in charge of CID,” Bishar said. He said the massacre was carried out by the armed forces, the AP and Regular police.
He demanded compensation for the massacre saying he was fired from his job as a civil servant for being vocal about the rights of the victims. He said the government has never bothered to explain why it killed more than 5,000 people.
Bishar said the security personnel arrived and rounded up men from the Degodia clan and took them to the local airstrip. “We don’t know why we were picked for the genocide,” he told the commission. “They were stripped naked and forced to sleep on their bellies for five days. They were burnt using their own clothes,” he said.
Efforts to sing the national anthem to draw sympathy from the officers bore no fruit. The residents were sprayed with bullets on the fifth day as they attempted to flee from the illegal confinement,” he said.
Another witness, Mohammed Dagane, said the government should apologise for the massacre and then institute compensation for reconciliation to commence between the government and the residents.
He ruled out forgiveness for the perpetrators of the massacre. “The individuals involved directly or indirectly should face prosecution and the survivors compensated,” Dagane said.
He said the province has been neglected in health and education. “What we have as hospitals don’t even meet the standards of dispensaries,” he said.
During the hearing at Wajir Red Cross Hall the commission briefly adjourned to confirm that a victim, Garad Siney, lost his manhood during the massacre. Five others with varied injuries exhibited them to the commission.

Nairobi Star: Yussuf Haji Opens Madina Mall

The rapidly evolving face of Eastleigh is now host to one of Nairobi's newest commercial buildings as Madina Mall opens its doors. The modern multipurpose building will be officially opened for business tomorrow by the Minister for Defence Yusuf Haji, according to Dr Faisal Guhad of Al-Bushra Properties Ltd.


The building, located along First Avenue Eastleigh, consists of a supermarket in the basement, a 99-room modern hotel which will occupy several floors, a hospital facility with maternity, dental and in-patient and out-patient wards, offices and shop stalls.


The shops occupy the ground floor while the offices, internet café, and a restaurant sit on the first floor. The mall also hosts a conference hall, a mosque and gym facility on the fifth floor.


          [Post Aggregated from Nairobi Star]

Garissa Youth Rally Against Drug Abuse

   Hundreds of peaceful youth staged a protest against the proliferating use of drugs in Garissa- coinciding, fortuitously, with the Easter Weekend when a lot of non-muslim Garissians engage in heavy drinking. The procession marched through the streets of Garissa chanting anti-drug slogans and raising awareness on the detrimental effects of drugs on health.

Who better to adjudicate matters of youth morality, disputes and problems than the youth themselves. This effort also helps re-inforce the Ulamaa's stance on drugs since reaction to them has always swinged between hostility to downright mockery.

After the procession ended, groups of youth went back to their bachelor pads for a well-deserved 'miraa chewing session.'  [ I totally made this up]

To see my past rantings on drugs and drug-addled youth, go here and here

Mogadishu Girls Basketball Team

UPDATE: Mogadishu Girls made it to the Semi-Finals of the tournament eventually finishing in third place after they beat fellow semi-finalists Nairobi. 

 If you don't know what I'm about to tell you, you've probably been living under an acacia tree in some Alshabab controlled village for the past week.

 Ladies & Gentlemen, Mogadishu is no longer satisfied with dominating the "war scene". That's why the world's most violent city has sent its best girls to conquer East Africa's women's basketball competition.

The hotties were quite impressive in their first outing against reigning champions Nairobi Girls and almost gave us the biggest upset of the tournament. The match was full of alley-oops, hook shots, great dribbles, excellent passes and overall, an outstanding display of basketball. All this achieved with just two weeks of training. You hear that Garissa High School? Speak of making it against the odds!

This's in stark contrast to Garissa High School's effete crew of muscle-atrophied "jocks" who were hapless in all their three matches at the recently concluded KSSSA Kakamega Games.

Embedded Below is a video of the remarkable and inspirational Mogadishu Girls. Just ignore the douchy reporter's claims that Somali women are culturally subjugated. As far as I know, our women are some of the most opinionated and fiercely liberal women in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab league {Think Hawa Tako & Company}. And its not like cabiid women are associated with any kind Feminism, militant or intellectual.

Crossing my fingers for a Cinderella story here.

In unrelated news, Garissa might host the Kenya Secondary Schools Games next year. Read full story here

Kenyans ranked among the Saddest People in the World.

   Gallup released its global "wellbeing" survey yesterday and unsurprisingly Kenyans were ranked among the saddest in the world. Much to my consternation, Djibouti and Somali Land were found to be much happier than their other IGAD counterparts.

Only 6 percent of Kenyans are reported to be thriving and happy with their lives. A whopping 80% are struggling to get by while a further 16% are living in agony. 60% of Kenyans find it hard to put food on the table.

While the correlation between income and happiness has long been a subject of philosophical interest and hasn't been conclusively determined to be true or false, its not surprising that the happiest people in the world live in rich  Denmark (72%), Sweden (69%) and Canada (69%) respectively, while the unhappiest earthlings hail from poverty stricken nations in Sub-Saharan Africa.

With the current flux Kenyan politics is in, I don't think such surveys will bear important policy implications, therefore, maybe, just maybe, inflationary pressures will shift the human psychology of the average Kenyan and make him/her go 'Tunisian' over our inept leaders

My personal thinking is: happiness has a lot to do with spirituality and a person's sense of belonging, which would explain why more Somali Landers and Djiboutians are happier than Kenyans, Ugandans and Tanzanians.

Here are the countries where a majority of the people are happy

And now the countries where less than 1 in 4 is happy

Where is the Outrage NEP?

What is wrong with us Somali Kenyans? We generally seem to get the point that we've been ill-treated by successive regimes. We understand that we deserve better than second class citizenship yet we still give the benefit of the doubt to those who don't deserve it. Its become part of our nature.

I continue to be amazed by the remarkable passivity of Nepians. We never give any credence or attention to the constitution and its liberal ideals.
Take the TJRC hearings that were taking place in Garissa. Given the grave nature of the crimes perpetrated on Garissians by the Moi and Kenyatta regimes, there were virtually no protests or public rallies held to denounce the perpetrators or to show solidarity with the victims.

I actually think a remarkable number of our people have become apathetic and don't think their actions will bear any consequences. Mosques have lost whatever powers they've had before and the local media thinks its sole purpose is to play cheap commercials with rhyming quasi-poetic lines.

Now food and fuel prices are pushing many poor families who don't have philanthropic relatives in Western Europe or North America over the edge. Inflation and costs associated with rising fuel prices have made it impossible for the average family to live a decent life. This  adds to the already devastating effects of the prolonged drought. A litre of diesel goes for as much as Kshs. 123 in parts of NEP.We are getting screwed again, except this time round, its costing lives.

But the main point is, where the fuck is the outrage? Why aren't people coming out of their houses to protest?
The truth is, no one cares about NEP because Nepians don't give a fuck about themselves. It may not be nice to say this but the truth is rarely nice. The reason why no one-including our very own representatives-is placating us is because we don't matter and we won't until we become actively engaged in all that directly affects our lives.

We Somali Kenyans are a homogeneous bunch but beyond that we have nothing else in common. we don't believe that we share a common destiny. We are fragmented and hostile toward each other. Unlike our culture which is strongly egalitarian, we cower before our own "leaders".

To you, the high school graduate, University Student, unemployed youth, I say wake up and educate others about what is ailing us. Its up to us, the younger generation, to educate our fathers, mothers, relatives and friends on our rights. Next time a police officer from Kirinyaga asks for your ID, tell him you were born in Garissa and that he is the foreigner in Garissa.

There shouldn't be a shortage of inspiration given all thats been happening in the Arab world since January.

Let me know what you think in the comments section or by e-mail, garissacity@yahoo.com

Painful Memories for Families affected by Wagalla

NEWS

Suffering with bitterness for relatives

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Stephen Mudiari | NATION Wagalla Airstrip in Wajir town where the massacre took place.

By SAMUEL SIRINGI ssiringi@ke.nationmedia.com

Posted  Tuesday, April 19 2011 at 22:00

IN SUMMARY

• Tears flow as villagers pour their hearts out to Truth, Justice and Reconcilia-tion com-missioners

Suleiman Abdi is 18. He was born nine years after the infamous Wagalla Massacre in which two of his uncles were killed.

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Yet he speaks with the bitterness of someone who witnessed the killings.

“If I had a gun and found those who carried out the killings, I would kill them all myself,” he said, anger written large on his face.

On Tuesday, Abdi walked the lonely runway of the Wagalla Airstrip — the place where, according to government records, 57 people were shot dead by gunmen believed to be government security officers. Independent estimates put the figure at more than 2,000.

Infamous airstrip

Abdi, a Kenya Certificate of Primary Education exam candidate, walks alone on the infamous airstrip with 50 goats — seven of his own and the rest belonging to his father.

He wears an uncomfortable grin and says: “My two uncles died here 27 years ago.”

At the other end of the runaway, birds land on the airstrip. No aeroplanes land here any more. They use the more modern airstrip near Wajir town.

At the Wagalla Airstrip Abdi walks his goats, clutching a radio and hoping to hear that the perpetrators of the massacre have been identified and brought to book.

“I hear there is a government team in Wajir looking into the issue, but I am sceptical. I would rather the suspects are to be taken to The Hague,” he said.

He would rather the killers of the people, mainly from the Degodia clan, are taken to the International Criminal Court like the so-called Ocampo Six, accused of bearing the greatest responsibility for the post-election violence that killed 1,300 people after the 2007 General Election.

“I want to know why our people were killed.”

His remarks were a reflection of the bitterness expressed by Habiba Mohammed whose husband was killed. She also became deaf after being kicked and slapped during the atrocities.

She lives in the village surrounding the Wagalla Airstrip. “That is where our men were killed. That was where the men were stripped naked, tortured and then executed,” she says.

“I wouldn’t have so many financial difficulties, had my husband not been shot by security forces,” she said pointing at her son, Shukur Rashid, 18, a primary school pupil at Wagalla Primary School.

“Even paying medical bills at the Wagalla Health Centre when my children fall sick is a nightmare,” she says as she shouts at a goat going astray.

At the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission hearing, a survivor of the massacre, Abdi Nur, said the airstrip was now useless.

“When you go to the airstrip, as you (commissioners) did on Sunday, you find people are just crying,” he said as he wiped tears from his eyes, while pointing out the injuries on his body he says were inflicted during the massacre.

“Many survivors and my relatives live there, and have sad memories of the place.”

 

State Urged to Compensate Wagalla Massacre Victims

Updated 7 hr(s) 21 min(s) ago

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By Ally Jamah

The Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission sitting in Wajir has heard from three witnesses who recounted the events of February 1984 at the airstrip where the Wagalla massacre allegedly happened.

One of the witnesses, Bishar Ibrahim Ishmael, who was a Government official during the period when the alleged massacre occurred, said he identified the Government and security officials who were at the airstrip between February 8 and 16, that year.

Mr Bishar said by February 8, about 2,000 people had been rounded up at the airstrip and by February 16, about 5,000 people had been brought from far as Mandera.

Bishar later recalls seeing two truckloads of dead people, being driven out of the airstrip.

"I can identify the actual Government official and army personnel, who were here during that period. I also can identify the vehicles they drove and the number plates of these vehicles," said Bishar.

The commission heard that in 2003, the Narc Government had promised the construction of Wagalla memorial and public library.

"All we want from the Government is a formal apology for us to move on,’’ said Bishar.

He said upon accepting responsibility, the Government should compensate the people of Wagalla in accordance to the Somali traditions. He said the compensation would be five camels for each man killed.

The commission also heard the area is socially and economically marginalised and the trend must be changed. Witnesses cited the poor state of health and educational facilities in Wajir and greater North Eastern region, saying it resulted to poor education standards and health challenges.

Wajir has 34 witnesses identified and the hearings end on Wednesday.

TJRC is mandated to inquire into human rights violations, including those committed by the State, groups or individuals between December 12, 1963 and February 2008.

The violations include but are not limited to politically motivated violence, assassinations, community displacements, settlements and evictions.

TJRC will also inquire into major economic crimes, in particular grand corruption, historical land injustices and the illegal and irregular acquisition of land especially as these relate to conflict or violence within the stated period of time.

The commission will receive statements from victims, witnesses, communities, interest groups, persons directly or indirectly involved in events or any other group or individual; undertake investigations and research; hold hearings and engage in activities as it determines to advance national or community reconciliation.