Wagalla Massacre Secrets Unraveling

I'm late in getting to John Oywa's Wagalla expose but I guess it still warrants a post unto itself. The writer sheds light on the gruesome events of 1984 and how it played out across the complex chain of command in place then.

Anyone who is been following this story should definately read his article here:

Documents seen by The Standard on Saturday and which have been tabled before the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission which is trying to unravel the truth about the bloody operation that shocked the world, show a tale of intrigues and a series of undercover events that could shed light into how a planned security operation to recover firearms and discipline members of a clan in Wajir District went awry.Twenty-seven years after the killings that the United Nations once described as the worst form of human rights abuse in Kenya, many questions remain unanswered.Last week, the Wagalla ghosts hovered in the horizon after witnesses to the TJRC, former senior government officials and members of the powerful and secretive Kenya Intelligence Committee (KIC) who visited the district a day before the killings, distanced themselves from the deadly security operation.Frequent attacksSome members of the KIC had denied ever holding a meeting in Wajir, leave alone meeting the local District Security Committee.It has now emerged that the decision to round up the Degodia clansmen who had been accused of frequent attacks against their Adjuran neighbours was issued by the Wajir District Security Committee on February 9, 1984, a day after the KIC delegation that included four Permanent Secretaries had left Wajir.

While the report does not conclusively prove the culpability of the accused, who've been pathologically incapable of taking responsibility for their actions, it does corroborate some of the testimonies given by witnesses and experts. 

On a related matter, here are few more links on the massacre that have made it to the dailies in the past few days. You'll find them insightful albeit depressing.

TJRC: Mwiraria LIED

Former PC: Orders for Wagalla Massacre Came from Above

Kiplagat's Role in the Massacre (slightly older)

Mwiraria Continues to be a Douche even in Retirement {Video}

Well folks, David Mwiraria continues to demonstrate an exemplary amount of douchbaggery. The senile Meru elder is still  doubling down on the half truths and lies that have served him so well during his checkered political career.

In an appearance before the TJRC, the disgraced former minister lied and lied and then lied some more. Classic Davie Boy! He wants to be taken as a serious politician but when he is backed into the corner and proven to liar and a genocidaire, he just reverts to the famous, " I am too old to remember anything" line.

Here is the video evidence

Former DC claims He would have stopped Wagalla Massacre

Classy Kenyan War Criminal and former Wajir DC is expressing contrition in his post "I-committed-a-massacre" repose the way any man awash in the blood of innocents does: by feigning ignorance and (selective) amnesia.

In a testimony before the TJRC, Moi's acolyte exonerated himself from participating in the massacre of 5000 innocent Somalis in Wajir.

"If I was on the ground at that time, I would have insisted that the people who were being held be fed and given water to drink. It is a matter of being human,"

He also claimed the government sanctioned mass rape of women was the act of rogue individuals.

"No law allows a Government officer to rape a citizen. Those who carried out the heinous acts were acting as individuals and not following Government policy,"

In a live cast on national TV, the former DC was evasive and vapid. I find it very hard to believe that a senior administration official is unable to recall whether he attended a meeting where the subject of killing thousands of people was discussed at length. And we are speaking of the Moi Administration here. Senior Administration officials did not skip meetings that had national security implications!

Read full story here

Genocidaires Associated with Wagalla Massacre summoned by TJRC

Let us stop for a minute and give a deserved applause to the men and women of the TJRC. Despite court battles and significant resistance from the masterminds of the Wagalla Massacre all aimed at stopping the commission from doing its work, these guys have stuck to their guns. And now comes the good news that we all wanted to hear: the genocidaires who refused to show up before the panel in its Wajir tour have now been summoned to appear before it in Nairobi.

Those summoned to appear before the TJRC include the who is who of murderous villainy.These high profile war criminals total 27 and include, Bethuel Kiplagat, Mwiraria, Joseph Kibwana, Jospeh Kaguthi, Benson Kaaria, among others.

All of these men have been adversely implicated in the massacre of 5 000 Somalis in Wajir. In their many different capacities, these men (and they are all men) have been the prototype for a mini-hitlerian plan to decimate Somali Kenyans. Lets hope justice catches up with them in this world because surely what awaits in the here after is far worse.

Read full story here

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.

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.

RELATED STORIES

• Massacre widows testify in private
• Tears as victims recall Wagalla killings
• Women wail as they meet Truth team
• Wagalla: TJRC calls ex-security men

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.

Massacre Survivors appear before TJRC

NEWS

Massacre widows testify in private

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Stephen Mudiari | NATION Mr Abdilahi Shurie (centre), a victim of the Wagalla Massacre, is led away from the public hearing on the atrocities on April 18. 2011.

By SAMUEL SIRINGI ssiringi@ke.nationmedia.com and ISSA HUSSEIN iissaa_nation@yahoo.co.uk

Posted  Tuesday, April 19 2011 at 22:00

IN SUMMARY

• The commission made the decision after it emerged some of the women were victims of sexual violations

A special session to hear testimonies of women rendered widows by the Wagalla massacre 27 years ago was held in camera on Tuesday.

RELATED STORIES

• Women wail as they meet Truth team
• Wagalla: TJRC calls ex-security men

The Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) presiding chairman Ronald Slye made the decision after it emerged some of the women were also victims of sexual violations.

The session, held at Raha Palace Hotel in Wajir town, was led by women commissioners including vice-chairperson Tecla Namachanja.

Some of the women were determined to speak out on the atrocities last Sunday when they wailed at the Wagalla airstrip, where more than 2,000 people were said to have been killed by security officers in 1984. The official figure is 57.

At the open session, former soldier Abdirahman Elmi Daud narrated how he was asked to wake up his colleagues who were to join an operation with the regular and Administration Police to round up members of the Degodia clan.

Mr Daud was an army corporal serving in the 7th battalion based at Wajir military camp.

“I was personally asked to use military lorry since I was a military truck driver to ferry the rounded up residents who were my clan members to Wagalla airstrip,” he said.

He said he witnessed 30 people beg urine from others since there was no water to drink.

The commissioners heard that 30 people felt they were overwhelmed by the suffering and decided to flee from their tormentors leading to massive beating by the security officers.

Mr Daud said he was arrested after he picked up injured victims and secretly took them to a centre created by an Italian aid worker for treatment.

Military orders

He was taken to Wajir Army camp where he was accused by the commanding officer of breaching military orders.

He was later referred to a martial court in Nairobi leading to his early retirement from the force. “I was denied renewal of contract.”

Mr Daud claimed he drove former military chief of staff Joseph Kibwana, who was then brigadier, from the airstrip to the military camp then to Wajir DC’s office where he held a meeting with former TJRC chairman Bethuel Kiplagat and former Provincial Commissioner Benson Karia.

More witnesses continued to speak about the human rights violations they underwent over the years in the region.

Mr Mohammed Ibrahim Dayow told of how he lost his father and five brothers in Hadado during the Shifta war in 1966.

Military men, he said, raided his home and killed his father, five brothers and 300 camels.

Mr Dayow said security officers torched his houses before seriously injuring him. He was detained for 33 days during which his 300 sheep and 400 cows were stolen.

Meanwhile, the commission was told that the ethnic feuds that led to the Wagalla massacre were as a result of the colonial government’s decision to demarcate boundaries in Wajir town along ethnic lines.

Unlike other regions in North Eastern Province, Wajir town was divided into three areas, former Wajir West MP Ibrahim Ali Hussein said.

The east of the town, he said, was left for the Degodia clan, which bore the brunt of the Wagalla massacre.

The west was left for the Ajuran while the south was occupied by the Ogaden.

Mr Hussein, who served between 1969 and 1974, said every community protected its grazing land.

But this changed in the early 1980s when the Degodia clan spread its dominance towards the west, sparking inter-clan flare-up with the Ajuran clan.

Daily Nation: - News |Tears flow as truth team told of 1980 atrocities

Tears flow as truth team told of 1980 atrocities

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By ISSA HUSSEIN and HASSAN BARISA newsdesk@ke.nationmedia.com

Posted  Monday, April 11 2011 at 22:00

IN SUMMARY

• Garissa residents say previous probes on military’s rights abuses have been left to gather dust by past regimes

Emotions ran high in Garissa Town as the truth team opened its first public hearing at a school where hundreds of residents were detained and tortured by security forces 30 years ago.

Tears flowed as residents thronged the school on Monday, performing poems, songs and traditional dances depicting the injustices.

The military is accused of committing the atrocities against residents of Northern Kenya under the guise of fighting banditry and cattle-rustling.

Mr Dubat Amey, an elder who has served as Garissa council chairman, told the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission that the abuses were still fresh in the residents’ minds.

He said they were angry because various regimes had let recommendations by past commissions gather dust.

Pointing at the school’s playground where hundreds of residents were assembled in 1980 after a notorious bandit called Abdi Mathobe raided Garissa Town, killing security personnel and a district officer, Mr Amey said: “Because of an offence by one notorious bandit, we were detained here for 72 hours.

“When they told us the women would be freed, we thought it was out of sympathy, but we were shocked to hear they had been raped at gunpoint.”

Garissa mayor Mohamed Gabow told the commission that it would be a big mistake to invoke memories of the injustices and then do nothing.

“You must show that you are equal to the task. If not, we would rather you leave as it hurts to talk about the inhuman treatment,” he said.

He said some dates are associated with the horror like Silig Galay (when the residents were locked in meshed wire), Garissa Guway (when Garissa burnt) and Imigancy (when emergency law was introduced).

He also urged the commission to address current issues like identity cards and security checkpoints, which, he said, still discriminated against Northern Kenya residents.

Acting TJRC chairperson Tecla Namachanja said the hearings are based on 30,000 statements and 600 memoranda recorded from September 2010.

She said Northern submitted the highest number of statements, with 6,000 statements of extrajudicial killings, rape and other violations.

Justice Minister Mutula Kilonzo said in a statement read on his behalf that the commission will record historical human rights violations and identify and recommend prosecution of those responsible of the abuses.