A shocking murder occurred at Kakuma2 where a 14 year old male child of Somali refugees was killed by gun shot.
Ref: CR 823/174/2011 – The Kakuma case of the murder of Abdullahi Mohamed Abdi, a juvenile who was shot and killed by unknown persons around 10:00Pm on the night of 19th November 2011. The incident happened at Kakuma2, zone1, block13. That evening the child had supper with the rest of the family members and went to a neighbour’s home to watch the football game.
He was returning home when he was suddenly stopped by the robbers who were armed with AK 47 rifles and who shot the child on the head without asking any questions. A bullet penetrated through his head and extracted a large portion of the brain and tissue. The bullet left a large exit wound on the back of the head upon exiting. Abdullahi died on the spot at the entrance of his home.
The number of the gang was not identified, however the gunmen are suspected to be from the host community. They are thought to have intruded into residential areas after destroying the fence that borders the Kakuma2 market. The gunmen crossed the main road and went up to the house where they hid and killed the child in an ambush.
The gunmen intensified tension and scared off the family and community members by firing over ten shots randomly. None of the residents in the neighbourhood were able to leave their homes to come to thje rescue of the child. The bullet casings were found on the ground the following morning and were handed over to the police.
The family arrived in the Kakuma camp in 2008 after they were relocated by UNHCR from the Dadaab Refugee camp due to the family’s “insecurity problems.” Since the family lost a child during a time they are supposed to receive protection from UNHCR, this could prove that the family has a well founded fear of persecution as the police, UNHCR and Camp management securities have not established the motive of the murder.
According to the camp security department, the security situation in the camp is stable despite a few unpredictable incidents. “The security situation is fine, police patrols are on 24 hours and local refugee guards are also in liaisons with security agencies,” said a security official speaking to KANERE anonymously
The family members have been feeling terrorized since the murder. The elder brother of the deceased child has experienced frequent nightmares. “Our security is bad, I don’t know why they killed my brother. We can’t live here like this every day after Dadaab camps,” said the brother of the victim. The mother, a paraplegic, cannot eat or walk around without support. She has also developed high blood pressure.
Kakuma2 is located between kakuma1 and 3. The settlement was not served by any security Agency. It is situated between the HongKong police post and the Kakuma3 police post. According to Kakuma2 residents who spoke to KANERE, the General Service Unit (GSU) arrived at the scene of the murder following the gun shots, which were heard across the camp. But no local guards or any members of the community were able to come out to speak with the GSU soldiers and so they were not provided with information about the murder. The local guards were unable to transmit communications to the police and to UNHCR because their radio hand sets were running on poor batteries.
The body of the child laid in the same spot until dawn when the family and residents woke up to find brain debris splashed on the ground and the body soaked in blood. The atmosphere was gloomy as the whole community mourned the untimely death of the child. The police transferred the body to the Kakuma Refugee Hospital.
The residents of block13 were outraged over rampant insecurity at Kakuma2. “We can’t sleep at night, children are crying. Some nights, there is no police patrol. We are in fear,” said Amina, a Somali woman. The residents have closed the main highway that connects Kakuma 1 and Kakuma 3 through HongKong because the residents believe the road connected many small pathways which facilitated crime.
The family of the deceased child and two other families also vacated their homes. According to the police, the motive of the killing has not yet been established and the case is still pending investigation.