Seven Nyeri families are mourning their loved ones who died during the Mandera guesthouse terror attack on Tuesday. They also are seeking compensation. The seven people are among the 12 killed at the Bisharo Guest House when al Shabaab attacked the facility.
A family in Nyaribo village lost two children, while a third one was injured. Families in Gitathi-ini, Gatei and Thunguma villages in Nyeri Central subcounty lost one child each.
The other bodies are yet to be identified, but the deceased are believed to have been Nyeri residents.
Sarah Wangechi from Nyaribo lost her husband, Amos Njogu, 56, while her sister Mary Nyawira lost her eldest son, Simon Mwangi, 34.
Wangechi said her husband moved to Mandera two years ago to work at a quarry. Speaking at her home, Wangechi said Njogu did not visit home, but sent money every month for the upkeep of their seven children.
Nyawira said her son went to Mandera for work four years ago, but visited home once in a while and sent money.
The families urged the government to pay for the burials, compensate them and recall people who relocated to Mandera in search of greener pastures.
Wangechi said she had been requesting Njogu and Nyawira to return home because of insecurity in Mandera, but they were reluctant and said they were safe.
Njogu’s elder brother James Gachango urged the government to compensate the family and meet the burial expenses.
The family also called for counselling.
The Interior ministry has said it is collaborating with the military to set up a border command unit in Mandera. CS Joseph Nkaissery on Tuesday said measures have been put in place to counter the infiltration of al Shabaab militants from Somalia.
“We are working round the clock to ensure citizens across the country are secure,” he said.
Nkaissery said the ministry will also boost security on the Mandera-Lamu border, which is prone to attacks due to its closeness to Somalia, where the militants are based.
He said police officers were deployed to hunt down those behind the raid and bomb experts are gathering evidence from the crime scene.
Nkaissery said in July that the construction of the 700km Kenya-Somalia security wall, aimed at enhancing security by keeping illegal immigrants and the terrorists away, was on course.
Chief of Defence Forces General Samson Mwathethe had earlier said additional military personnel will be dispatched to the area to counter terror attacks.
“Static, mobile road blocks and check points will continue to be mounted to prevent the movement of ISIS, al Shabaab and other terror groups into our country,” he said.
Mandera county has been the target of terror attacks and victims are often Christians living in mainly Muslim regions. In December 2014, al Shabaab killed 38 non-Muslims at a quarry after separating them from Muslim workers. A few months earlier, 28 Christian bus passengers were killed after they were separated from Muslims, who were spared.