(KDRTV) – At least one Kenyan was killed by Al Shabaab terrorists when gunmen daringly attacked the Camp Simba military base, at Manda Bay, Lamu County on Sunday, a leading American newspaper has claimed.
According to the Washington Post, a man named Mwalimu Chengo Ponda was shot six times by the gunmen, about six kilometres from Manda Airstrip.
The newspaper quoted Ponda’s neighbour Suluba Kazungu, who was allegedly on a palm tree when he saw his neighbour being killed.
“I heard my neighbour scream,” Kazungu said. “There were at least 10 armed men. I can assure you they were not the military. It was my neighbour’s bad luck that he came into the path of these men.”
According to the deceased’s family, the government is aware that a Kenyan died in the attack. Police had visited the home and recovered spend cartridges from the shooting.
Lamu County Commissioner Irungu Macharia, also confirmed to the newspaper that a man had died in Lamu and that at least 10 terrorists were at large.
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This contradicts statements from KDF and the Interior Ministry; both have maintained the narrative that no lives were lost in the attack.
On Monday, Interior CS Fred Matiang’i told journalists that no Kenyan lost their lives during the attack and that none of the terrorists left the airstrip alive.
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KDF released a statement on Sunday morning, that the attack had been neutralized and at least five terrorists had been killed. But according to the Washington Post, the attack lasted for more than nine hours.
The United States Africa Command (Africom) confirmed that three US Citizens; one soldier and two contractors died during the attack. Three Americans were injured but are currently in a stable condition.
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