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Kenya: Military Accused of Killing Thousands
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The Nation (Nairobi)
16 May 2008
Posted to the web 16 May 2008
Jeff Otieno
Nairobi
Thousands of Mt Elgon residents have been killed in the ongoing military operation on suspicion of belonging to an illegal military outfit.
A fact-finding report by the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) says the majority of those killed in the two-month operation are members of the Sabaot community.
"The military has executed thousands of people in Mt Elgon. Sources told the commission that the military torture members of the Sabaot community to death. Those who survive are taken to the police station.
"Those who die are taken to Kamarang'a hill in Mt Elgon where it is alleged they are buried en masse," the report, entitled Mount of Terror says.
The human rights watchdog accuses the military of adopting similar tactics used by the rag-tag Sabaot Lands Defence Force (SLDF), which is accused of killing more than 600 people in the last two years.
Prior to the military operation, hundreds of people fled their homes following months of terror by the illegal militia.
The report, released on Thursday, says many have succumbed to injuries from gunshots or constant physical beatings.
"All the men and young boys from the ages of 13 were taken away by the military to their operational bases in Kaptama and Kapkota where they were tortured.
"A number of them died as a result of the alleged torture inflicted on them," the report adds.
KNCHR also accuses the security forces of raping young girls and women and cites an incident in February where a 14-year-old girl was raped.
"All the victims were afraid to make a report as the 'same people' are responsible," the report adds.
Some of the forms of torture that victims said occurred at the military camps were sexual violence, food and sleep deprivation, broken limbs, swallowing sand and being submerged in sewage, the report says.
The watchdog cites interviews it conducted in Bungoma Prison where victims recounted how they were forced to roll in sewage. One man narrated how he was tied to a moving military chopper for almost five minutes until he lost consciousness.
The report comes a few weeks after the Independent Medico-Legal Unit (Imlu) released its own report on the operation.
According to Imlu, more than 400 people have been killed in Mt Elgon.
The Government has dismissed reports of human rights abuses by the military as baseless and recently, Defence minister Yusuf Haji said the military was only targeting the illegal militia.
However, the KNCHR insists that the military must be held accountable for the deaths of innocent people in the area.
The organisation says most of the abuses were committed in the military bases of Kapkota, Saandet and Kaptama.
It also accuses the military and the police of indiscriminate burning of houses and food granaries in Cheptais, Chebyuk, Kabero, Kabkwes and Bukweno locations, where 187 houses were torched.
Numerous people have fled the region and are now staying with friends and relative in other parts of the province.
Lost husbands
Many women, the human rights organisation says, lost husbands and sons who were taken in for "screening" and interrogation at the start of the operation.
"A number of the men who have been tortured can no longer bear children. Many others have died as a result of the injuries," the report adds.
The report accuses politicians of worsening the situation by meddling in the allocation of land in the area.
"The controversial scheme has not been devoid of political meddling and local leaders in the area have been accused of influencing the process ," it adds.
A former area MP, the report says, was singled out by residents as one of those meddling in the allocation of land.
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The residents are now calling for the cessation of the operation to enable them search for the bodies of their relatives.
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