Al-Shabaab parades bodies of Kenyan policemen in Somalia

Kenya Defence Forces soldiers under the Africa Union Mission in Kismayo, Somalia, on November 20, 2015. FILE PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Their bodies were paraded by al-Shabaab terrorists in their headquarters in Jilib, Somalia.

  • They have been identified as Constable Job Kibet and Constable Kiprotich Ng’eno.

The two police officers who went missing after the Hamey Police Station attack on Thursday morning were killed and their bodies taken to Somalia.

Their bodies were paraded by Al-Shabaab terrorists at their headquarters in Jilib, Somalia. They have been identified as Constable Job Kibet and Constable Kiprotich Ng’eno.

Some 4,484 rounds of ammunition, an MG3 machine gun, two G3 rifles and a VHF radio set were also taken by the terrorists in the raid at the camp in Garissa County, according to a brief sent to police headquarters in Nairobi by the Dadaab police.

On Thursday last week, National Police Service spokesman George Kinoti said that over 50 terrorists in two pickup trucks launched the attack but officers at the camp managed to repulse them.

“The attackers retreated and later returned in bigger numbers in a lorry and fired three bombs into the camp, destroying some tents thus forcing our officers to withdraw for cover,” said Mr Kinoti.

During the attack, Constable Justus Egesa was shot in the head and was later airlifted to Nairobi for treatment.

Constables Robert Kinuthia, Stephen Mutua, and Reuben Kiprono suffered light injuries. They were rescued and taken to Dadaab Hospital for treatment.

Sergeant Godfrey Kailutha and Constable Peter Kambutha escaped without any injuries, according to the police.

After the attack, the terrorists burnt down four tents and drove away in a police vehicle.

“Following subsequent reinforcement, all officers have been accounted for except two,” said Mr Kinoti.

Police also confirmed that photos doing the rounds on social media were those of the missing police vehicle, a Toyota Land Cruiser, with the registration number GKA 398Y.

Preliminary investigations indicate that the police officers were caught unawares and that there was no rapid response team to pursue the attackers after the raid.