Red Cross officials attend to a victim of Tana River clashes/FILE
NAIROBI, Kenya, September 13 – Livestock and Development Assistant Minister Dhadho Godhana has been sacked over the Tana River Killings.
In a statement, President Mwai Kibaki said he was relieved of his duties after investigations linked him with the violence in the Tana River Delta.
“Following investigations that have linked Dhadho Godhana with violence that has rocked the Tana River Delta, I have today in consultations with Prime Minister Honorable Raila Odinga relieved Honorable Dhadho Godhana off his duties as Assistant Minister in the Ministry of Livestock Development,” the statement said.
Godhana was on Wednesday detained and charged over the Tana River clashes, hours after The President ordered the prosecution of leaders fanning violence in the troubled region.
He faced two counts of incitement to violence denied the charges and was released on a cash bail of Sh500,000 by Magistrate Lucy Nyambura.
President Kibaki further emphasised that the Government is fully committed to restoring normalcy in the region.
He indicated that thorough investigations will be conducted to ensure that all those implicated in the violence are arrested and prosecuted in accordance with the law.
He called on residents of the affected area to cooperate with the security agencies in restoring law and order.
More than 100 people were shot, hacked and burnt to death as the Pokomo and Orma tribes fought one another in a deadly dispute over Orma-owned cattle grazing on land the Pokomo say is theirs.
Godhana, whose constituency is located in the Tana Delta where the violence erupted, had accused a political rival, acting Internal Security Minister Yusuf Haji, of whipping up the unrest, according to local media.
Haji, who is also the defense minister, represents another constituency flanking the Tana River and is from a different tribe to Godhana.
Settled Pokomo farmers and semi-nomadic Orma pastoralists have clashed intermittently for years over access to grazing, farmland and water in the coastal region. An influx of weapons in past years has upped the stakes.
President Kibaki imposed a curfew on Monday and sent extra security forces to the area.
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