Fresh claims of extrajudicial killings in Mandera County is worrying residents following reports that five bodies were found in shallow graves.
Local residents reported that herders in Bambo, Mandera, have discovered bodies buried in a shallow grave near a place called Warankara, 65km away from county headquarters.
This came barely a week after four men and a woman, were reported missing by their relatives who were sincere engaged in a search mission.
Locals exhumed the bodies on Monday morning and took them to Lafey Hospital. Medical personnel at the hospital told the local media that a male body had bullet wounds in the forehead and the other bodies appeared to have been strangled.
Abdi Adan Orai said his brother disappeared from home on Friday and his family had been looking for him.
“There has been a security operation in Fino and we suspected my brother along with these other four were picked up and killed by security agents before being buried here,” Mr Orai alleged.
Mandera County Deputy Governor Omar Maalim condemned the killings, calling on the security agents to hasten investigations and arrest the culprits.
“We can’t accept losing our people just like that. I’m calling on the government to come clear on this and many others that have happened in the past,” Mr Maalim said.
Activists and social media personalities from Northeastern region have sharply criticized the incident terming it as a case of extra judicial killing.
A security operation in Fino and other urban centres along the Mandera-Lafey-Elwak road is in response to the recent road bombings in the area.
