Writes Leo Odera Omolo In Migori Town
PANICKING and fear has gripped the residenbts of both sides along the the common border of Kebyta abd Tanzaia following the reports that a crazy gunman who had run amok and shot eight people to death leaving three in serious gun wounds, and who is still at large, could possibly cross the border and sneak into Kenya and cause more havoc with the lives of innocent people.
According to Radio Tanzania, Dar Es Salam and BBC monitored in the neighboring Kenya, the shooting of the eight Tanzanians took place on Saturday if the previous week in Tarime district in the north Mara region. the semi-pastoralists Kuria community, which has spread across the international border line between Kenya and Tanzania with half of the population of this community living on both sides of the border and speaking one vernacular Kuria language. It is therefore much easier for any criminal person on the run and being pursued by police on the either side of the border to sneak to the other and vanish.
According to Radio Tanzania the government of Tanzania has sent a large number of policemen into Tarime district, both uniformed and top detectives to try and track down the gunman whose identity could not immediately be established. The motive behind the shooting also remained unclear to the security men in Dar Es Salaam. The gunman is said to be taking only mobile phone handsets and other valuables from the victims .
Kuria people living on both sides of the border are cattle rearing people and the region is cattle rustling infested.
Tanzania has beefed up the security and reportedly sent more than 200 policemen . The reinforcements were called into the area from other regions and the nearby districts.
Many people on the Kenya side of the border appeared to have been unaware of what is happening in Tarime, which is only about 20 kilometers from Sirare border posts, which is the official border crossing point. The two countries have a porous borderline and the longest stretching from Lake Victoria to the India Ocean. Locals on both sides can cross.
However, Kenyans living near the borderline have been cautioned by the local administration to be on the look out and report suspicious stranger person to the nearest police station for interrogation.
The police In Tanzania could not disclose what type of weapon the gunman is using, but his marksmanship indicated that he might have served in the armed forces previously.
Tarime district is laying north of the famous serengeti National game park and north east of the lakeside town of Musoma on the shore of Lake VICTORIA.
ENDS