Burial service for the late Damaris Kisio Matei, one of seven victims of the Kwa Kamari bandit attack, at her home in Tseikuru, Kitui County, on May 2, 2026.
Kilyungi Musila, 44, invited his uncles to help him work on his farm in Kwa Kamari, Mwingi North sub-County. Little did he know that he would later be transported out of the area in a police vehicle alongside seven bodies of people who had been shot dead by unknown assailants.
The father of four says that the day started well, with his two uncles — his mother’s brothers — and other workers showing up ready to till part of his eight-acre plot.
'We had all prepared to show up and help one another, as we do when we're working in the fields. My uncles, Kilonzi and Mulandi Kauni, were with me, and we were working until we heard gunshots at around 1 pm. They scattered for safety,” said Mr Musila.
They hurried into a nearby thicket, where he gave them food. They saw the masked gunmen, and he took to his heels.
“I ran away, not knowing that it would be the last time they helped me on my farm. They fired lots of bullets, and I ran until I felt something hit my left hip,” he said.
Family, friends, and relatives gather beside coffins bearing the remains of seven victims of the Kwa Kamari bandit attack during a joint burial service at Tseikuru Primary School in Kitui County on May 2, 2026.
Unfortunately, he did not realise that his uncles had been shot.
He lay calmly in a bush, wondering whether he would make it out alive.
He was found by another uncle, Musili Kauni, who had gone to search for his lost goat despite having been invited to the farm, and who showed up amidst the tension.
“When I arrived at the scene, I saw my nephew. People were offering me their condolences, which I thought was because he had been shot. But then I saw the bodies of my two brothers lying nearby,” said Mr Kauni.
Bleeding, Mr Musila had to wait more than six hours for first aid.
The biggest challenge, and one that will haunt him, was being transported alongside the bodies of his uncles and other people he knew. The poor state of the road made transporting the bodies to Kyuso Funeral Home in a police vehicle a horrifying ordeal.
“I sat at Kwa Kamari Police Station for hours, during which time they gave me water. Later, I was transported to Tseikuru Sub-county Hospital in the same police vehicle that had the bodies,” said Mr Musila.
He says that the injury has set him back a lot, as although his leg has healed, it may never be the same again.
“This incident has left me wounded. I lost my uncles, and I can no longer enjoy our camaraderie. I need help from the government. I can’t work as I used to, and I need support to provide for my children,” he said.
Family, friends, and relatives gather beside coffins bearing the remains of seven victims of the Kwa Kamari bandit attack during a joint burial service at Tseikuru Primary School in Kitui County on May 2, 2026.
According to Anita Mwangi, the Tseikuru Sub-County Deputy County Commissioner, it took them a long time to receive information about the attack and react, as the area has very poor network coverage. This forced them to send a team and wait for them to return with a report.
"Imagine sending a team to investigate and worrying that they might be attacked on their way to help those in distress at Kwa Kamari," said Ms Mwangi.
Mr Musila requested to be allowed to access his land in Kwa Kamari to harvest his mung beans, pearl millet and cowpeas.
Dorcas Wanza, whose son Joseph Mutemi was hacked to death by suspected camel herders at the Ukasi region in Kitui County on April 28, during an interview with Nation at Katangini Village in Kitui County on May 1, 2026.
'I would have got five bags of mung beans, ten bags of pearl millet and five bags of cowpeas. The government should allow me to collect them and provide for my children,” said Mr Musila.
However, the DCC said this would be considered, despite it being difficult to mobilise farmers to go to lands from which the government has evacuated people since the incident took place.
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