On February 10, 1984, a joint security operation comprising officers from the army, police, and administration police began at 4:00 am, targeting areas such as Elben, Dambas, Butehelu, Eldas, Griftu, and Bulla Jogoo in Wajir. The aim was to disarm locals—particularly members of the Degodia clan—suspected of possessing firearms and to identify bandits. The operation would later culminate in what became known as the Wagalla Massacre.
Earlier on December 16, 1983, Maalim Mohammed, the then Minister of State, held a political rally in Wajir.
He urged residents to surrender their weapons and hand over their guns. He gave the residents 10 days to respond to the directive. Despite a disarmament appeal by the Minister, the response from the illegal firearm holders was underwhelming.
During the operation, men were forcefully removed from their homes and transported to the Wagalla Airstrip for screening and interrogation.
Wagalla Airstrip was reportedly chosen due to its secure and fenced grounds. Witnesses reported brutal beatings, torture, and sexual violence against women and girls who were left behind in the villages, particularly in Bulla Jogoo.
Details of the Wagalla Massacre
Huts belonging to Degodia were torched and burned. Detainees at the airstrip were subjected to extremely difficult conditions, lacking food and water. Children were also rounded up and brought to the airstrip.
On February 12, a “stampede” occurred at the airstrip, leading to mass shootings by the police as the detainees at the airstrip were trying to escape.
The injured at the airstrip received no medical attention. The operation formally ended on February 13 after people were detained for four days, with efforts to clear Wagalla.
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Later on, witnesses appearing before the Truth and Justice Reconciliation Commission, a body established after 2007- 2008 post-election violence to investigate historical injustices since independence said they heard specific orders to shoot anyone not seated.
The victims of the incident narrated that the Degodia clan was primarily targeted during the operation.
The official death toll stood at 57 people. This figure comprised 13 people shot during the “stampede” on February 12, and 16 who died from dehydration and sun exposure between February 11 and 13. An additional 28 deaths were identified through “quiet, side-line investigations.”
However, the TJRC report inquiries revealed widely disparate figures for the dead, with estimates ranging significantly higher.
Casualties of the Massacre
Some sources wrongly estimated that death toll was in the region between 300 and 400 deaths, based on a supposed government figure of 381 in 2,000—though the Commission found no proof of that number. William Ruto once mentioned 380 deaths in a BBC report but later clarified the official count was 57.
Osman Noor Abdille, a survivor narrated to the Commission he personally counted 193 bodies for photographic documentation.
The Wagalla Foundation Trust estimates 475 deaths: 335 primary victims and 140 from attributed injuries and medical ailments.
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Higher estimates, from 1,000 to 5,000, were reported by S. Abdi Sheikh and in a Philadelphia Inquirer article based on accounts from tribe members, missionaries, and relief workers. Dr. Nancy Caroline of AMREF reported at least 1,400 killed and 7,000 homeless.
President Moi indirectly acknowledged the massacre in October 1992 by promising a Wagalla Trust Fund, which was never established. The Commission concluded that the government’s actions demonstrated a pattern of denying atrocities and attempting to control the narrative.
To date, many bodies have never been accounted for, with reports of them being thrown into the nearby River Tana or dumped in the bush.
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