“I’ve been to hell and back.”
These are the words of 80-year-old Talaa Barterio who recounted how she broke her leg while fleeing from bandits in Baringo North on April 5. She is blind.
She is among more than 800 Tugen residents who fled their homes in the volatile Ng’aratuko, Kagir, Yatya, Chemoe, Barketiew and Kosile villages.
“I was sleeping in my grass-thatched hut at 9pm when I heard gunshots,” Barterio said on Sunday.
Fearing for her life, she attempted to run away “because life is sweet anyway” and the bandits have a tendency of burning people inside their houses.
Barterio fell into a ditch as she was fleeing. “I broke my leg and was rescued by residents who were fleeing,” she said.
Her grandchild Maria Toroitich said Barterio was taken back to her house, where she has been nursing her injured leg for five weeks.
She said the family was unable to take her to hospital because of lack of money, but they hired a private nurse with the little cash they had to treat her.
Maria said they paid Sh2,500 to the nurse who visited the home and put a bandage on the granny’s leg. “The Sh2,000 she gets monthly from the government went to settling the bill,” Toroitich said.
On Friday, she was taken to Baringo County Referral Hospital after the Star highlighted Barterio’s story last Saturday.
“I thank the media for highlighting the story and the county government of Baringo for intervening to save her life. We are very grateful as a family,” Maria said.
On Friday, Public Health officer Moses Mulamba led a team to rescue the injured granny and took her to the hospital in Kabarnet town.
The team found her wailing and writhing in pain alone in her dilapidated hut.
“Granny’s situation was really getting worse. She may not have survived because the fracture in her right hip joint was already clotting with blood,” Mulamba said.
Others rescued are Isaac Chelalwa, 41, Josephine Tonje, 54, Enock Rong’uno, 28, and Mzee Barng’eny Chebor, 80. There are many other patients with gunshot wounds recuperating in the village.
“It is shocking to see more than 10 bullet injuries in one village,” Mulama said.
He said an X-ray shows Barterio sustained serious knee and hip fracture and “she had to be admitted in hospital for further examination and treatment.”
Residents are appealing to the government to help end the attacks.
Tonje urged well-wishers to donate food.
County commissioner Henry Wafula said enough security officers have been deployed in the area to restore calm.
