Elders to help in release of kidnapped Mandera chiefs, Murkomen says

The government has resorted to using local leaders to negotiate the return of five chiefs and two civilians who were abducted by alshabaab militants along the Elwak-Wargadud-Mandera in MAndera County on February 3.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen said the security agencies are facing challenges in rescuing the administrators and also in the recovery of the bodies of Kenyans who were killed on Saturday evening in Turkana County.
Murkomen said only two bodies have been recovered in an ongoing joint search operation in Todonyang’, where more than 20 Kenyans were reported missing following the attacks at the Kenya-Ethiopia border.

The teams, according to Murkomen, are facing significant challenges, including the geographical complexity of Lake Turkana, much of which lies in Ethiopian territory.

“More than 20 individuals remain unaccounted for, and the government has mobilized resources, including diplomatic channels, to address the crisis and ensure the safe return of missing persons,” the CS said.

He also said affirmed that the government had adopted the strategy of using local contacts to facilitate their release from alShabaab militants who are believed to have taken them to Jilib.

The attacks in Todonyang’ on Saturday evening saw an unconfirmed number of people killed in an ambush by suspected militia from Ethiopia’s Dassanech community.

Heavily armed assailants indiscriminately fired on Turkana fishermen who were fishing in Lake Turkana near River Omo.

Authorities are still working to determine the total number of casualties, though some estimates suggest the toll could exceed a dozen.

Murkomen acknowledged the severity of the situation, stating that “some Kenyans were harmed.”

“Some of our citizens remain unaccounted for, and we are collaborating with the Ethiopian government and the Kenya Defence Forces to resolve this border issue. There should be no cause for alarm—calm has returned to the area,” Murkomen assured.

Some reports suggest the attack was a retaliatory response after suspected Turkana bandits allegedly shot and killed Dassanech fishermen from Ethiopia near River Omo on Saturday morning.