Peace returns to Tana Delta

Calm is slowly returning to Miticharaka, Musurujanu and Katsangani villages of Tana Delta Sub-County after satellite police posts were put in place to avert escalation of clashes and tension in the area.

Residents who had abandoned their homes following the eruption of clashes in the area are now returning and internally displaced persons camps that had been set up are being dismantled.

According to Tana Delta Deputy County Commissioner Mr Mike Kimoko, police officers will be stationed at the posts around the clock so that residents can access help faster in the time of need.

Kimoko was speaking at Miticharaka Primary School satellite police post where he had accompanied the chairman of the National Consultative Coordination Committee on IDPs (NCCCI), Mr Al Hajj Aden Wachu, whose delegation had been sent by the office of the president to assess the situation.

Wachu said that the greatest worry in government was the mushrooming of IDP camps in the area, a situation that he said would not be entertained.

“We shall only help this people when they are in their farms but not in IDP camps and I am glad that the largest IDP camp at Kurawa- Kanagoni Primary School has been closed,” he added.

Mrs Loise Nyevu, a victim of the clashes, was visibly overjoyed at the sight of cars in her village saying they gave her hope that their calls will now be heard.

Nyevu narrated how her friends were brutally killed, saying that they were picked from their houses, tied up with hands at the back and their throats slit before being dumped in the forest.

The six decomposing bodies were discovered by Red Cross personnel at a forest near Miticharaka Village and taken to the Malindi Hospital Mortuary.

“We need a mobile clinic because we walk for over 18 kilometers for services and some pregnant mothers have lost their lives on the way,” she said.