Lagdera MP Abdikadir Hussein on Monday condemned an attack at Kambi Samaki area along the Garissa-Isiolo border that left two people dead.
The two, an elderly man and his wife who were identified as Mohamed Noor and Kuresha Salan Noor, were in a house when they were ambushed by gun-wielding bandits on Sunday evening who then proceeded to shoot them at close range.
Mohamed Ali, a resident of Kambi Samaki, who spoke to the Star on the phone said that the bandits numbering about ten struck the border village and started shooting in the air.
“They found the man praying and first shot the woman who died on the spot. They then proceeded to shoot the man in the right arm. he died while being rushed to the Garissa County referral hospital due to excessive bleeding,” he said.
The incident comes barely a week after another man Dubat Sheikh,68 was killed near Garbatula.
The MP while condemning the incident regretted that bandits have continued to kill innocent people at will accusing the police of doing little to arrest the perpetrators.
“It is unfortunate that we continue to lose the lives of our people day and night in the hands of marauding bandits who continue to kill with impunity. Where is the government while all this is happening?” he asked.
He added:
“The attack was well coordinated and if the government was really serious and wanted to apprehend these criminals it can easily do that. Unfortunately, that has not happened,” he said.
According to the MP, the bandits' sole intention was to scare residents who are residing in the area so that they can occupy the area that has remained a bone of contention for decades.
We can only practice the politics of harmony and coexistence. We don't entertain politics of acrimony and anarchy.
He said time has come for the local leadership from both sides together with the residents to have honest conversation on how to find a long-lasting solution to the conflicts.
“I honestly believe that we can peacefully co-exist as brothers and sisters since God in his won wisdom put us together as neighbours,” he said.
The Borana from Garba-Tula in Isiolo County and their Aulihan counterpart from Lagdera in Garissa County have had a long history of bloody border clashes dating back to 2015 where hundreds have been killed and thousands of families displaced.
Efforts by the government to try and restore sanity in the troubled areas have time been successful as killings and destruction of property continue to be reported.
