Two villages in Tigania West, Meru County, are mourning six young men killed by suspected Al-Shabaab militia in Somalia last Friday.
A sombre mood engulfed Mweronkana and Karumo villages after the bodies were flown into Isiolo airport on Saturday and Sunday, as the families started making arrangements for the burial.
On the fateful day, Steven Mwenda, 36, Chris Mutuma (18), Kenneth Ntongai (20), David Muthaura (21), and 18-year-olds Kenneth Mugambi and his cousin Jeremiah Mutembei opened their businesses as usual at 6.45am.
They sold plastic utensils at Dhobley, about five kilometres from the Kenyan border with Somalia.
"It is a lucrative business where one can make a profit of at least Sh100,000 each month. The young men hoped to cash in on the Holy month of Ramadhan when sales are generally good," Lewis Mwirigi who survived the attack said.
But the six ended up dead, their lives snuffed out by the bullets of a terror gang.
On Sunday, Mwirigi recounted how he missed death by a whisker as he ran for his life with bullets whizzing over his head. After the attack, they fled the country fearing for their lives.
He said after they set up their wares, a Toyota Probox packed near their shops and four hooded men came out. They shot in the air but no one expected they intended to kill.
Seeing someone with a gun or hearing shots rent the air in Somalia, regarded as one of the most dangerous places to live due to the threat posed by the Al-Shabaab militia, is a daily occurrence, he said.
But on this day, there were no jokes as the men opened fire on the traders, killing four instantly while two others were seriously wounded.
Despite the closure, residents of both countries have continued to interact and cross the border engaging in business deals. Liboi Deputy County Commissioner Ali Manduku said the motive of the killing had not yet been established.
The victims suffered multiple bullet wounds in the chest, head, and stomach, according to the families. Postmortems will be conducted this week as the families plan to lay them to rest.
Family members said their sons were hard-working and had travelled to Somalia in search of a better life.
Geoffrey Munjuri, Mutuma’s elder brother, said when their father died in 2016, the family was left without a breadwinner and they struggled to go through secondary school. Mutuma dropped out of Form Three last year due to lack of fees.
“My brother was determined to rescue our family out of poverty and joined his colleagues in Somalia. He promised our mother that after earning good money, he would go back to school. He had been there for a year and had started sending money back home. Now he’s dead,” Munjuri said, fighting back tears.
“In December when Mutuma came home for the holidays we had a good time. This year he had high hopes and set a target that by December he would have saved enough money for school fees…it was not to be, now he is gone forever…”
Joseph Anampiu said his son Mwenda, a father of three, was his family’s hope.
Mwenda, who has been doing business in Somalia for the last three years, would send money back home to take care of his family, he said.
“He was a good man and understood the challenges we were facing. I have lost my son who was the pillar of my family,” Anampiu said.
Asked why the young men opted for Somalia, the families said despite being pushed by poverty, they were also adventurous.
“Mugambi completed his KCSE last year and in January expressed the desire to venture into business. We could not deny him a chance to explore. He was a very ambitious young man with a bright future,” said Dickson Koinange, his uncle.
“We appreciate the government for transporting the bodies to Meru promptly. But we have no money to bury our sons and we appeal to people of goodwill to help us,” Koinange said.
