Simmering tensions between Borana and Somali livestock traders in Meru boiled over leading to an all-out assault that has left four dead, several injured and one local reported as missing while residents reel in the bloody aftermath.
Igembe North head of police, David Kirui, while speaking to Daily Nation revealed that the savage murders were ethnic-based.
“It is as if the two communities are engaged in a business rivalry and one wants the other to stop trading directly with the Meru,” he noted.
Reports indicate that the killings started when unidentified gunmen shot and killed Willy Harun and injured an unidentified passenger as they rode from Mutuati market to Gachiuru.
Once word of the shooting spread, a chain reaction was triggered by the rival community going on a revenge mission.
Kiolu village was their final destination and on arriving, they shot and killed a local, Samuel Mugambi, after which they headed to a makeshift homestead at Kongo Atune where herdsmen were enjoying a meal.
As per the reports, the highly charged gang opened fire with reckless abandon leaving several injured and a herdsman dead.
“Some were waylaid by gun-toting people who flagged the rider to stop but he defied their orders. They opened fire and killed the passenger on the spot while the same bullet injured the rider,” the police boss divulged.
Mr Kirui and his officers also allegedly came across a heavily mutilated corpse that they believed was one of the herdsmen reported missing following the raid.
Local leaders including Igembe North MP, Maoka Maore, and Amwathi MCA, John Ntongai have since come out and called for the need to bolster security within the area, urging the warring communities to stop the killings.