Mpeketoni widows still waiting for compensation four years later

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The aftermath of attacks in Lamu in June and July, 2014. PHOTO: COURTESY.

Lamu, KENYA: Lamu widows whose husbands were felled by the militant’s axe and bullet are yet to receive monetary compensation as pledged by the county government four years down the line.

Promises made by the national government to also help the widows  lead normal lives after their husbands were killed by Alshabaab militants seem to have vanished with the passing of time.

The county government had then promised Sh.100,000 for each widow who lost her husband.

The money was in fulfillment of the promise made by Lamu Governor Issa Abdalla Timamy during his first visit to the families of the bereaved in Mpeketoni on June 16,2014.

Timamy had promised that each bereaved family would receive Sh 100,000 to assist in catering for all the hospital and funeral expenses.

However only a section of widows received the money in the first phase of its distribution, while the rest have been left wondering why they were left out.

Speaking to Baraka FM in Mpeketoni on Thursday,the widows have however not given up hope and still hope that the county and national governments will remember them and assist them.

They said it was unfair that some widows had received the financial assistance while many of them had not leaving them wondering on the criteria that was used to allocate the monies in the first place.

“We thought we were all equal since all of us had lost our husbands at the hands of Alshabaab that fateful night;its unfair. We still hope they will remember us and help us since we are still struggling,” SaidNjeri Kang’ethe.

“The feeling of loneliness and abandonment is so intense among many of us and it’s just unfortunate that we have nowhere to turn to. We seem to have been left to deal with this alone,” she added.

Meanwhile, some of the over 90 businessmen whose buildings were destroyed during  the June 15 terror attacks in Mpeketoni and Kibaoni have since opted to reconstruct their buildings on their own.

The national government through former Devolution CS Anne Waiguru had promised to have the buildings reconstructed immediately, a promise that has never materialized to date.

The business persons said insurance firms had since refused to also help them saying the insurance firms don’t provide covers for terror-related damages.

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