The search for those responsible for the killing of eight people in Mandera has begun, with police yet to arrest any suspects days after gunmen struck a convoy transporting road construction workers and National Police Reservists near the Kenya-Somalia border.
Five of the victims' bodies were flown to Nairobi on Wednesday for postmortem examinations, while the other three were buried on Tuesday evening in line with Islamic customs, Mandera County Police Commander Robinson Ndiwa has said.
Ndiwa said the military helped transport the bodies to the capital, where they were taken to Nairobi Funeral Home for examination before their families could collect them for burial.
"We received assistance from the military that airlifted the five bodies to Nairobi. The bodies were taken to Nairobi Funeral Home for collection by the families after being examined by a government pathologist," Ndiwa said.
Police have since launched investigations into the incident, with Ndiwa calling on residents to share any information that could help identify the gunmen.
He said preliminary investigations pointed to a banditry incident rather than a terrorist attack, expressing confidence that detectives would eventually establish the identities of those behind the killings.
"We are looking at a banditry incident and not a terror attack, as such. We have launched investigations and in a matter of time, we shall know who was behind the attack," he said.
The attack occurred on Tuesday morning along the Mandera-Arabia Road, close to the Kenya-Somalia border, where armed men ambushed a convoy of vehicles ferrying employees of County Builders Ltd.
The company, which has been contracted by the Kenya Rural Roads Authority to tarmac the road, lost six workers and two National Police Reservists in the incident.
Among those killed were Mohamed Ibrahim Hussein, from Koromei in Mandera, and Abdifatah Abdille Ibrahim, a resident of Bulla Barwago in Mandera Town. The two were serving as National Police Reservists.
The six construction workers included Hassan Hussein Kussow, who was driving the double-cabin pickup targeted by the gunmen. He sustained severe gunshot injuries and later died while receiving treatment at Mandera County Teaching and Referral Hospital.
Four other victims, John Ng'ang'a Munene, Peter Musili Kiondo, Stephen Kanyi Macharia and Stephen Munene Nga'ang'a, were from Kinangop in Nyandarua County but had moved to Mandera Town in search of work.
Munene was killed alongside his son, Stephen. Another victim, Peter Kahio Kariuki, came from Murang'a County.
Tuesday's killings brought back memories of an earlier attack on the same road construction project, which has faced security threats since the company secured the contract in 2018.
On December 22, 2019, suspected Al-Shabaab militants planted and detonated improvised explosive devices at Hagarsu Bida, destroying machinery belonging to the contractor.
The explosives damaged equipment valued at Sh38.8 million, including an excavator worth Sh20 million, a flat roller valued at Sh9.5 million, a sheepfoot roller also worth Sh9.5 million and a pressure pump valued at Sh800,000.
The attack forced work on the road project to stop.
One of the workers who survived Tuesday's ambush, Godfrey Waweru, recounted how the attack unfolded, saying the workers were travelling in three separate vehicles when the first one came under fire.
He said the vehicle carrying eight people was ahead of the others, while the occupants of the remaining two vehicles spotted the incident from a distance and turned back to avoid being caught in the gunmen's attack.
"We don't sleep together but we leave the town almost at the same time in different vehicles. The first vehicle with eight people on board was attacked. We saw what was happening from far away. We turned back," Waweru said.
Waweru explained that the workers' different departure times helped prevent further casualties, as the other vehicles had been assigned to collect colleagues from their places of residence before heading to the construction site.
"We did not leave the town together. The other vehicles were to go round and pick up our colleagues from where they stay," he said.
Ndiwa said police had not arrested anyone in connection with the killings, noting that the attackers crossed into Somalia shortly after carrying out the ambush.
He added that the limited population in the area had made it difficult for security officers to track the suspects immediately.
"We are yet to make any arrests. The attackers quickly crossed over into Somalia and the sparse settlement in that area makes it difficult to effect any immediate arrest," he said.
The gunmen also escaped with two AK47 rifles and more than 150 rounds of ammunition taken from the NPR officers during the attack.
Police said recovering the weapons remained a priority as investigations continued.
"We are doing everything possible to recover the rifles," Ndiwa vowed.
Separately, security officers in Garissa County stopped an attempted attack on the Quick Response Unit stationed at Kamuthe in Fafi Sub-County.
The incident occurred at around 1am, according to a security report recorded at Fafi Police Station.