The Monday morning attack on two policemen escorting Form Four exam papers to Mahero Secondary School in Alego Usonga, Siaya County, left a dark indelible mark in the mind of Robert Wamulla, manager of the exam centre.
Being the principal of the school, Mr Wamulla was tasked with ensuring that exam materials were collected from the sub-county offices and delivered safely to the candidates every morning.
Since the KCSE exams began, Mr Wamulla was always accompanied by two police officers whenever he went to collect the materials.
Police vehicles at the entrance of Mahero Secondary School in Siaya County.
Photo credit: Kassim Adinasi | Nation Media Group
And, in his words: “Just like the previous days, I collected the exam papers from the distribution point and boarded the bus that ferries us (centre managers) to our respective stations."
At 7.30am, Mr Wamulla and his police minders alighted from the bus, upon reaching their drop-off point. The trio took the dusty road leading to Mahero, roughly 100 metres from the main Siaya-Nyadorera road.
The murram road linking the main road to Mahero school was wide enough for the two security officers to walk side by side sandwiching Mr Wamulla who was carrying the exam papers.
After about 40 metres, Mr Wamulla remembers seeing two men approaching from the opposite direction but did not note anything suspicious about them.
“They were dressed in heavy clothes. I didn’t suspect anything because it was a cold morning and everyone else dressed warm. The two men, however, wore hooded jackets."
“On turning, I saw the two men pounce on the policemen and without uttering a word begin to stab them rapidly with daggers. Blood gushed from their necks and head as the officers struggled to free themselves from their attackers. I sensed danger and took off shouting at the top of my voice, calling for help,” he added.
“I hid in a nearby building still holding tightly to the exam papers and my screams attracted people, forcing the attackers to flee but were now in possession of the guns belonging to the officers.”
A small crowd quickly gathered at the scene and rushed one of the policemen to hospital after his companion was reported to have died under the attackers’ knife.
“I still don’t know the motive behind the attack. I can’t tell whether they wanted to snatch the guns or were targeting the exam papers,” Mr Wamulla said.
Mr Joachim Otieno, one of the first people to reach the scene, said they found one officer already dead.
A manhunt for the two killers is ongoing and Siaya Police Commander Kleti Kimaiyo on Tuesday called on members of the community to assist the police in tracking them down.
