Kenya: authorities' silence after death of Amisom soldier sparks controversy
A controversy has erupted in Kenya this week over the authorities' silence regarding the death of soldiers from the African Union mission in Somalia in an attack. It turns out that the brother of one of the slain soldiers is a former presidential election candidate who has publicly deplored the absence of comment or tribute from the government.
"I am in shock and in mourning," could be read on Tuesday on the Twitter account of Professor James Ole Kiyiapi. This former senior Kenyan official, candidate in the 2013 presidential election, lamented the death in Somalia of his "young brother Johnson Olemoi Kiyiapi." And he took the opportunity to deplore the silence of the authorities regarding his fate, as well as that of his fellow peacekeepers. "They die incognito," he concluded, since to date only the press has reported on the attack in which he was killed.
This attack took place Monday near the border in Somalia's Gedo region, according to local media. A Kenyan military truck in an Amisom convoy supplying Somalia with water struck an explosive device, killing between seven and nine soldiers, depending on the source, and wounding five, all hospitalized in Nairobi.
As is their custom, neither Amisom nor the Kenyan military has mentioned this attack or publicly provided a toll. Yet photographs of the destroyed truck have circulated. And the family of Professor Ole Kiyiapi has been officially notified. Neither Amisom nor Kenya's defence forces have responded to our requests for comment on this matter.
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