Dog bites and assaults haunt Kwale villagers

The officers undressed and whipped him using strong tree branches, and stepped on him in shifts several times for allegedly trespassing on private property, MS claimed during our interview.

The GSU officers are attached to a camp at a Bamburi Cement property in Magandia, within the Matuga subcounty in Kwale county.

The property is also guarded by a private security firm, G4S.

Two years down the line since MS was assaulted, he is yet to fully recover from the clobbering, and his scars and fresh wounds are a testament to what he went through on that fateful day in 2021.

Several huge scars on his body testify to the violence of the attack. 

"One side of my manhood is still swollen following the beatings I received on that day. Ever since, I am in a lot of pain," he said.

MS is just one of the many Denyenye residents who have allegedly suffered at the hands of GSU and G4S officers manning the 584-acre Bamburi Cement property in Kwale.

The locals claim that the land was formerly owned by their forefathers who were practising subsistence farming, planting maize, cassava, vegetables and coconuts.

Over the years, they claimed that at least three people have died after they succumbed to injuries from dog bites and beatings by the police and private guards on that land.

At least 10 people, they claimed, have been mauled by dogs and badly beaten and left for dead.

There are also claims that an unknown number of women have allegedly been coerced into sexual favours in exchange for being allowed to fetch firewood on the extensive land.

However, there are also claims of rape, but the women are too shaken to report due to stigma and threats from the perpetrators, and also for fear of being divorced by their husbands. 

One side of my manhood is still swollen following the beatings I received on that day. Ever since, I am in a lot of pain

DOG ATTACKS

Another victim, SSM from Maweni village in the same locality, is still recuperating from a dog bite.

A dog mauled him for about 30 minutes while the security officers watched mercilessly, he said.

The incident took place in August, and SMM can recount the trauma.

"It was around 5pm when I went to fetch firewood near the Bamburi land, but two G4S officers and another in civilian clothes called me. They started beating me randomly for alleged trespassing," he said.

SMM said they then unleashed their furious dog on him. The dog grabbed every part it could get and held tight with its sharp teeth.

He said he pleaded for help and had to fight for his life. The struggles went on for some time until the officers decided to contain the raging dog.

"I knew it was my last day, I could feel the dogs' teeth in my bones. I felt pain and numbness at the same time," he said.

The 38-year-old said the entire 30 minutes was like hell. He was unable to free himself or get help but submitted to the unforgiving dog.

He incurred severe dog bites on his leg and several others in the thighs and hands.

AM, a local fisherman who sells octopus to locals and tourists, is also a victim of assault and dog attacks.

He was bitten six months ago and the scars of the wounds on his legs and hands are still visible. The scars reveal the true nature of the struggles and pain that he had to undergo.

SM said he was heading to the beach through the Bamburi Cement land route when G4S and GSU officers confronted him.

"I was going fishing at the beach when I was stopped and the dogs were unleashed on me," he said.

OB, 61, also has a lot to tell about the ordeals of Denyenye residents in the hands of the private guards and the GSU officers. His hands and legs were tied with a rope before he was beaten and attacked by a dog.

He recounts the tragic incident that happened during a sunny mid-morning on January 25.

OB had gone to collect firewood for sale when some officers arrested him.

He had left his family home and promised to be back within a short time but unfortunately, he returned badly wounded.

The 61-year-old said the officers roughed him up randomly and when he tried to run, they released the dog. He was bitten all over his body, sustaining serious body and head injuries. 

NO TREATMENT OR JUSTICE

Most of the residents who claim they were assaulted, bitten by dogs or involved in sexual violence do not seek proper medication and justice, according to the locals interviewed.

According to another resident, FN, the officers threaten to hunt down whoever will report the criminal activities they have allegedly been doing.

She said sometimes, the accused officers raid people's homes and terrorise the locals.

FN said they once, raided her home and threatened to arrest her and her children, a situation that resulted in the death of her husband, who was suffering from high blood pressure.

“It is for such reasons that locals do not want to come out and talk about these predicaments. Most are suffering in silence,” she said.

FN said these brutalities have been ongoing for a long time since 2004, but the cases started becoming rampant around 2017. 

She said now the residents are tired of the tortures and that's why some have gathered strength to come out to reveal the untold sufferings inflicted on them.

VOICES OF RIGHTS GROUPS

Denyenye-Maweni Community-Based Organisation secretary Mfaume Hassan said the suffering started when the GSU camp was set up in the Bamburi Cement land.

The secretary accused the officers of misuse of powers and public resources to terrorise harmless locals.

"We are law-abiding citizens, and if anyone is found to have violated the law, they should be arrested and charged in court. Why beat them?" he said. 

Hassan said many injustices have happened to the locals, but they cannot get justice because of a lack of legal support and finance and uncooperative police officers.

He said some of the affected people are being threatened with arrest by police officers while trying to seek justice.

Kenya Human Rights Commission, in partnership with Transparency International and Kwale Mining Alliance, have moved in to investigate and compile cases of human rights violations. 

KHCR programmes adviser Furaha Charo said the accused entities must be held accountable.

"Both Bamburi Cement and the security officers manning the area have a case to answer," she said.

She said the injustices should not be happening when Kenya has adopted a national action plan on business and human rights.

Charo said KHRC is already pursuing some of the cases and is documenting enough evidence for tough court battles.

KMA officer Elsheba Oketch said they would take legal action to help the victims, adding the crimes committed against the locals have taken years and it is time to put an end to the injustices.

Oketch said they reported at least 10 cases of dog bites, assaults and rape to the police, but no action was taken. 

She said the number of assault and rape victims could be higher, but residents are fearful due to lack of knowledge of human rights violations.

Oketch urged the DCI to come on board and assist the victims to get fair justice and urged police to uphold professionalism.

No known allegations of rape have been brought or reported before us. This is a grave claim that we do not treat lightly

BLAME DENIED

Bamburi Cement Company, the G4S and the Kwale county police have denied any involvement in the alleged incidents.

On November 6, Bamburi Cement wrote to the Star, acknowledging only one case of an intruder, Omar Mbwana, whom they said was attacked and bitten by a dog from G4S after attempting to attack it.

Bamburi’s statement said Mbwana was caught cutting down trees illegally from the vast land.

“The matter was reported and booked at the police station as a criminal offence, and the culprit was taken to hospital by the G4S Emergency Responsible Vehicle,” the statement said.

“There has been no other proven case brought to us or the police, and it is important to note that no known allegations of rape have been brought or reported before us. This is a grave claim that we do not treat lightly.” 

The private security company, G4S said only two dog attack incidents occurred at the site in 2022, and in both cases, the guards acted within the protocol as they were attacked by intruders.

After the incidents, the company said they had to carry out additional refresher training in safe dog handling, adding that their security officers working at Bamburi Cement property are highly trained in security and human rights.

The firm also noted that their security dog is only deployed at night and by a trained dog handler, and it is kept on a strict leash.

G4S said it treats all issues of human rights with utmost seriousness and it has instructed the site security contractors to do thorough investigations and provide a report on the allegations as part of the company’s due diligence processes.

Kwale county police commander Stephen Ng'etich confirmed that a few cases of dog bites and assaults have been reported in the region. 

He said police launched investigations into some of the cases which were forwarded to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution waiting for further directives.

Ng'etich also admitted to having received one death case that happened in September, where the victim confessed on the hospital bed that he fell from a tree and sustained a backbone injury, and was not a police assault case as people speculated.

He, however, said some of the victims who report do not follow up on their cases, and once sent for a medical report to help with filling P3 forms, they disappear completely.

Ng'etich denied any involvement of GSU officers in beating and raping residents, adding that their work is to patrol along the Mombasa-Lunga-Lunga highway to enhance security.

The CPC said the GSU officers do not own any dogs, and, therefore, the dogs belong to G4S officers who were hired by Bamburi Cement to provide security in the area.

He said while GSU officers have been hosted on that land, their work is not to protect the Bamburi property but to work independently to enhance county security. 

Ng'etich also denied the presence of any rape cases, adding that none has reached his office.

He advised the locals to report any case promptly for proper justice to occur.

“Please, if the officers down there fail to assist you, my office is open because we are here to serve you," he said.

LAND AND CSR

Bamburi Cement PLC said they followed all legal requirements in the acquisition of the land, adding it has been transparent and very cooperative and it publicly stated its aim to build a clinker manufacturing operation and extract coral limestone in the area.

Bamburi Cement said they bought the site in the 1950s, when there were no inhabitants living on it and staff and contractors from Bamburi Cement's environmental department, Lafarge Eco Systems (LES), planted the trees on the land, contrary to what the community is alleging.

“About 40 Community CBOs from across Kwale county were contracted to produce seedlings,” the company said.

“They were trained and given seedling pots, and they were paid for the seedlings they produce, and claims that wetricked them to plant trees and evicted them later are not true.”

The company’s statement said Bamburi Cement PLC has been involved in various programmes that create social value for the community, ranging from education, environment, water and sanitation, employment and infrastructure over 20 years.

It said in Kwale, over the last three years alone, 60 secondary school students (20 each year) have benefitted from Bamburi Cement’s full scholarships (tuition, shopping vouchers and uniforms).

In infrastructure, it said the company sunk boreholes and built an average of 14 classrooms in four schools. 

Bamburi said the organisation has employed 10 general workers and five security guards on the site, 13 of whom have been sourced from the neighbouring communities as part of the community empowerment.

The firm said every week, 60 women from the surrounding villages gather in groups to collect firewood from the office harvested by Bamburi Cement personnel dedicated to this purpose.

The company said fishermen also have access to the beach for their fishing activities through the Bamburi Cement land, 17 smallholder livestock herders graze their animals on the land and more social impact initiatives are in the pipeline.