Tension in Lamu's Kiunga town as building is bombed by unknown people

Locals said they heard a huge blast that was followed by gunshots before the targeted building came down.

The situation caused fear, forcing locals to remain indoors.

The bombed house belongs to Shamsa Khalifa, a renowned business woman within the border town.

She has been living there together with her four children while running businesses, including wholesaling.

The property worth millions was destroyed during the dawn attack with no casualties reported since Ms Khalifa and her children were away.

Said Omar, a former assistant chief in Kiunga, said his own house near the woman’s building was impacted by the bombing.

“It was so shocking. We heard the unexpected blast very late in the night. It was followed by gunshots. The strength of the explosive was so huge. It even caused cracks in my building. The incident also resulted in a blackout in Kunga Town. No one came out for fear of getting targeted by the unknown people,” said Mr Omar.

He called on the government to come clear on the issue as locals are left in the dark on whether the executors of the bombing are al-Shabaab or security agencies.

It is worth noting that Kiunga Village is within the ongoing multi-agency security Operation Amani Boni (OAB) zone.

The operation was launched by the Kenyan Government in September 2015 with the key objective being to flush out Al-Shabaab militants believed to be hiding inside the dense Boni Forest.

“We came out this morning only to see Shamsa’s building and all the items have been reduced to rubble. Everyone here is tense. Let the government come clear on whether the perpetrators of this act are our own security agencies or the Al-Shabaab. We’re worried,” said Mr Omar.

Lamu East Deputy County Commissioner, who is also in charge of the Kiunga border area, George Kubai, confirmed the incident on Friday, noting that the matter is being actively investigated by respective security agencies.

Security concerns 

Mr Kubai called on all Kenyans of goodwill to continue cooperating with security agencies and share accurate information that will aid in the ongoing investigation.

“Our officers, including police and the military, are already on the ground to ascertain what actually transpired. In the meantime, citizens shouldn’t be worried. Let’s share information with our security apparatus to aid in the investigation so that the perpetrators can be brought to book,” said Mr Kubai.

Some villagers threatened to demonstrate, claiming they are unsafe.

“How safe are we if a building that’s within our town can be targeted and bombed just like that? We feel like we’re in Palestine. We’re worried who’s next? We will demonstrate so that our security is guaranteed. We’re also Kenyans,” said Mohamed Mwenye, a villager.

Mariam Ali, a resident, said the incident has left everyone fearful about their safety.

Ms Ali was quick to blame the security agencies, noting that on Thursday evening, they had arrested the businesswoman and her four children.

Read: Lamu’s Hindi town chokes under bars, nightclubs and noise

“I am aware that on Thursday at around 7 pm, police came to arrest Ms Shamsa and her children. They held them at an unknown destination. The bombing took place at around 1.45 am. Surprisingly, the family was released at 3 am on Friday, just hours after the bombing. How coincidental is that?” she posed.

This is not the first time a suspected bombing incident to a civilian house is orchestrated in Kiunga Town.

In December 2021, a shop belonging to a businessman Yassir Mahmoud Ahmed was bombed by unknown people at around 2 am.

The shop had property worth millions of shillings, among them gas cylinders, cookers and other merchandise, all of which were reduced to ashes in the mysterious incident.

A neighbouring house was also burnt down by the inferno that seemed to have been precipitated by the presence of loaded gas cylinders.

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