Standard Reporter
February 26, 2005
In a representative suit filed by a lobby group, Truth Be Told Network, the families want the High Court to declare that they are entitled to compensation from the Government. They also want the court to order an inquest into the killings, which took place in Wajir District.
The families want the perpetrators of the massacre criminally held liable for their conduct. According to the suit papers, Kenyan security forces under the control and direction of then Northern Eastern Provincial Commissioner, Mr Benson Kaaria, rounded up about 5,000 men of the Degodia clan and forced them into Wagalla airstrip.
The Degodia clan were systematically slaughtered in what was allegedly a well planned and orchestrated operation aimed at ethnic cleansing.
The dead and injured were allegedly collected and put into lorries and then scattered in an area covering the entire northern districts.
The lobby group claims it has over the years collected names of those who perished and to date 400 men have been identified.
Source: Standard, Feb. 26, 2005