By NZAU MUSAU
Seated in a dusty chair in the backroom of an obscure hotel, John* takes a deep breath as he leans back to begin what he calls a dangerous venture of revealing military secrets.
His hidden but sparkling eyes appear to me as holding tormenting secrets, ones which he has preserved for 26 good years even as they gnawed him from inside.
He’s decided to speak, he tells amid a circumspect stare of military order, in the interest of pursuit of truth and justice; and in the interest of thousands of victims of killed, maimed, orphaned or wounded in Wagalla massacre of 1984.
“I was then a young corporal in the 7th Kenya Rifle based in the Wajir military camp which was then commanded by Wilson Mdogo,” he begins the narration of his sad role in the operation that saw all the men of Degodia clan rounded up.
Nothing extraordinary had been happening in the days before, he recalls, besides an ongoing Shifta operation which largely entailed pursuing after bandits deep into the bushy plains of Wajir.
With a lot of ease, he recalls that on February 9th, 1984, he was guarding the main gate of the camp which he says always had about 12 soldiers manning it at any particular time.
“At 11am, I was called up by the second in command a Capt. Mugo who instructed me that at exactly 3am, I should wake up all the soldiers. I went on to do that and all were paraded and given 30 minutes to drink tea.” He remembers.
After that, all but three soldiers were ordered into trucks and driven towards Wajir town. Near the town, they stopped and were herded together to listen to the command of what appeared to be a major operation of sorts.
Here, the commander explained that they were to move cordoning off sections of manyatta villages where the Degodia clan of Somali tribe were known to live.
“We were instructed to arrest everyman waking up in those villages and drive them to Wagalla. We were to leave the women behind,” he says.
According to John, all government cars from the entire district be they trucks from public works, military ones or those from ministry of works had been availed for the grand operation.
On a single trip, ten trucks would ferry the men to Wagalla and go back for more as police guarded those delivered at the air strip, he says.
“In most instances apart from where there was resistance, not many knew what we were up to. Most people including soldiers thought it was a major public baraza; the reality however started to dawn on everybody around 2pm on that day.” He adds.
Only the district security committee members comprising of the DC, PC, OCPD, DCIO and DO1 were in picture, he says as he wipes a cold sweat running down his face.
At around 4pm, the officer recalls, the men who had by now begun to smell of some foul plot were given the only water they would get in the four days they stayed there.
It became dark and the military left the air strip for the camp leaving police to guard the men through out the night. The following morning, the military went about Wajir town collecting more Degodia men.
By the afternoon of that day, inquisitive people had begun pushing for an explanation and they were told they had guns and to be set free they had to deliver them.
“One man rose his hand up and explained that he worked with ministry of water. He wondered how the government he worked for would accuse him of such a crime,” he recalls.
An argument ensued whose end was an order for all men to remove all their clothes and lie facing down.
A conference was held besides the naked-dying men under a large shade of a tree which has since dried up. They- the district security committee members were taking sodas, he remembers.
Thereafter, beatings started until some confessed of owning guns. These extracted confessions emboldened the security men as they sought for more.
“I remember one man who tried to save himself by confessing to owning a gun which he said was hidden in a well. He basically wanted some water and after drinking himself full in the well, he emerged to say he couldn’t find it, he was shot and thrown to die in the same well,” he recalls.
On the third day, John remembers, another security meeting was convened at the DC’s office in Wajir town in which the then area MP and late cabinet minister Ahmed Khalif tried to storm in but was repelled.
Himself a Degodia and representing the Wajir West constituency, Khalif had gone together with his Wajir East counterpart to demand an explanation on what was going on in the area.
“Thereafter, security men were deployed to all roads leading out of Wajir with clear instructions to arrest the two. Somehow they managed to escape to Isiolo,” he remembers.
When it was known they had reached Isiolo town, further roadblocks were ordered to nab the two from leaving the town but the two were quite ahead; they left their car outside a hotel and rode on a taxi to Nairobi where Khalif gave an interview to BBC detailing the massacre.
John remembers that by that time, about 400 people had died in the air strip and the rest of the men were dying. Some were doused with petrol and lit up to die. Others were drinking each other’s urine.
“Immediately the BBC aired the story, the government was instantly embarrassed. It was decided that the shame should not be allowed to spread. Accordingly were instructed to clear the air strip of all the men- both the dead and the alive,” he recalls.
The trucks which delivered them alive began to drive away, each loaded up with both the dead and the alive. They drove away to different directions depositing the men in far away lonesome bushes where they could not crawl for help.
At this point, John poses and sips the soda he has not had a chance to since we began the interview. Shaking his head while tapping my recorder, he continues:
“I have never seen anything like it and the experience still haunts me today. How could the government kill its own workers, including ex-soldiers? Even the first senator and respectable elder of the area then Aden Noor died in that air strip,” he recalls.
He says the justification that the operation targeted shiftas is misplaced because no shiftas could be found in the streets and outlying villages. Shiftas were hidden deep in the bushes and that is where the fight belonged.
Like the victims and survivors, John hopes that justice will eventually come to the victims and survivors of Wagalla. How, when and in what terms are the questions he has no answers for.
John*, not his real names not only witnessed the massacre but also played a significant role in the massacre and which he detailed to The Star. For purposes of his own security however, we could not publish details of his involvement.
TJRC to investigate Wagalla
The massacre at Wajir falls within the mandate of the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission which is investigating all gross human rights violations in Kenya since 1963.
Commission CEO Patricia Nyaundi told The Star that the shame of Wagalla is such a dark spot in Kenya’s history that neither the commission nor the country can afford to ignore.
“It speaks to all of us; those of us that pursue justice in our lives. And certainly it speaks to the commission under whose mandate all gross human rights violations committed in this land since independence fall in,” she says.
Incidentally, the commission is facing credibility issues over the alleged role of chair Bethuel Kiplagat in the massacre.
Civil society activists have tabled evidence to show that Kiplagat visited Wajir on the eve of the massacre. Kiplagat has since denied the claims.
“The current TJRC under chairmanship of Kiplagat is a charade, it is a smokescreen for rewarding impunity and mediocrity. It seriously undermines the golden opportunity for people of Wagalla to obtain justice,” International Centre for Policy and Conflict’s Ndung’u Wainaina says.
Sections of victims of Wagalla also expressed strong dissatisfaction with the chairmanship of Kiplagat when we talked to them. Besides, they have also argued against healing and reconciliation through a truth commission.
Mohammed Khamis who lost his father and other family members says truth and healing will come when the perpetrators lead the way in owning up to the shame of Wagalla. He says the TJRC should count out the people of Wagalla if Kiplagat does not come out clean.
“Let him come out and say the truth and we will participate. If indeed he took part, we will not have to punish him. All we need is the commission to lead the way,” he says.
Besides a truth commission, Kenya can order an independent judicial examination into the massacre and undertake trials using international law. It can also seek UN avenues in form of special tribunal.
Also, a dispute can be taken to the World Court by an independent state accusing Kenya of gross human rights violations in Wagalla. A crime against humanity suit can also be filed in any country which allows such suits among them Belgium.
Ends………/.
