Chilling scenes as residents exhume bodies from graves in Mandera
Residents of Mandera claim they have discovered a mass grave with bodies of people who have been missing from the area.
The Sunday afternoon discovery in Lathe, about 42km from Mandera, has caused a buzz on social media, with gory pictures of the bodies being shared on WhatsApp.
Mandera Senator claims that the bodies belong to victims of extrajudicial killings by security agencies.
“I want to express my utter disgust and condemnation of the extrajudicial killings by our security agents once again. The discovery of mass graves in Mandera yesterday (Sunday) evening is a clear indication that this evil process of extermination of suspects in total disregard of due process is the norm rather the exception,” wrote Billow Kerrow.
“Leaders from the county will meet this (Monday) morning to plan a course of action. Clearly, this has gone too far and must stop. It’s time we say no, not just as leaders but as a society too.”
One of the bodies has been identified as that of a woman who operates a hotel within Mandera town and was picked by unknown people last week.
A website (www.intelligencebriefs.com) that tracks security issues in Kenya, however, claims that the bodies belong to Kenyan intelligence officers and defectors from Al Shabaab who were killed by the terrorists for betrayal.
The website claims that Al Shabaab deliberately made the killings look extrajudicial to lay blame on Kenyan security agencies as a way of winning support from the locals.