Ijara MP Ahmed Abass wants Kenya Defense Forces out of his constituency

Ijara MP Ahmed Abass has accused the Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) of committing atrocities against civilians in his constituency. Speaking in Hullugho town, Mr Abass linked KDF to the death of four herders in the area this year. The youthful legislator said the KDF officers posted in the border sub-county to protect the locals from external aggression perpetuated by Somali-based terrorists, were turning out to be the biggest enemies of the people.

“The KDF soldiers are on a daily basis, rounding up herders before torturing and in some cases killing innocent residents,” he said. He now wants the Government to investigate the kidnapping of two young herders last week whom residents claimed were brutally killed and their bodies burnt.

The ODM legislator called for the immediate withdrawal of the officers from his constituency claiming that the officers were of more threat to the people than the Al Shabaab. “As the area MP, I demand for the immediate relocation of the KDF camp in Hullugho sub-county in my Ijara constituency since they are doing nothing to secure the country from external threats posed by the terrorists,” he said while addressing his constituents who complained of harassment by KDF officers.

“The military is treating any person found moving near or inside the Boni Forest as a terrorist,” he said. The MP claimed people in the area are no longer willing to report anything to the security officers for fear of being treated as the first suspects. The lawmaker who donated seven motorbikes to chiefs in his sub-county said the locals had lost confidence in the security personnel, and accused the Government of neglecting chiefs.