Evacuees talk of death, rape, harassment and robbery at gun-point

Kenyans evacuated from South Sudan arriving at the Wilson Airport in Nairobi. The last group of about 100 Kenyans arrived at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport by a Kenya Airways plane. PHOTO/EVANS HABIL  NATION

In Summary

• They took money and phones. But if they found a lady, they would rape her. I know two women who were raped.” Maureen had her bags packed and had been at the airport for two days but she did not mind. She wanted to leave.
• Kenyan ambassador to South Sudan Cleland Leshore has had his hands full in the past few weeks. His first nightmare was locating Kenyans in the far- flung areas of South Sudan. The problem, he said, was that most Kenyans has not registered with the embassy.
• Another returnee, Mary Wambui, talked of Kenyan traders who lost all their property when their shops were raided and robbed. Most merchants resorted to selling their wares at throwaway prices instead of losing everything to the soldiers.

By PETER ODUOR
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The aerial view around Juba is much like most parts of South Sudan; multicoloured.

Black, white and brown. Brown dry grassland, huge patches of black burnt up areas and white patches of ash where trees and huts once stood.

A winding murram road cuts across the seemingly flat land, a lorry lies on its side.

The contents on the back, rocks or blocks or stones, are gently spilled by the side of the road as though the lorry did not meet a sudden and violent end to its journey but rather had keeled over through a determined nudge by those who wanted it in that position.

Part of the Nile that flows through Juba city is also visible.

The airport too can be seen but it’s not like any other airport, maybe an airport in Syria or Central Africa Republic or just South Sudan.

Military Humvees stalk the runway and soldiers in military fatigues complete with guns slung across their shoulders stand in front of grass structures.

At the airport, three types of military uniform can be seen, excluding the KDF — and without the KDF gear.

At the airport, queues of those leaving are long. Their luggage however, is in form of small bundles like for those who have lived in a place for between three months and seven years.

KENYANS STILL STRANDED

The emergency evacuation process was to end yesterday. That is according to Foreign Affairs PS Karanja Kibicho. But by the end of Thursday, there were 84 Kenyans still stranded in Juba.

For the military and Kenya Airways, it has been a constant back and forth between the two countries since December 21, when the evacuation began. They’ve made about two dozen flights ferrying over 3,000 Kenyans home.

And the returnees have different chilling stories to tell. Take Maureen Adhiambo for instance.

She said that she was only three-months-old in Juba. She came seeking work and got a job at Imperial Hotel.

Though she lived close to the presidential palace which was somewhat secure, she was still harassed by the South Sudanese who took military uniform and guns and started making door-to-door night calls.

“They would barge in, about five to 10 of them at ago and demand money (2,000 pounds) or threaten to kill you.

They took money and phones. But if they found a lady, they would rape her. I know two women who were raped.” Maureen had her bags packed and had been at the airport for two days but she did not mind. She wanted to leave.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs through its PS said that five Kenyans were killed as the ambassador’s office at Juba said they could neither confirm nor deny the cases of rape reported by some of the women.

Another returnee, Mary Wambui, talked of Kenyan traders who lost all their property when their shops were raided and robbed.

Most merchants resorted to selling their wares at throwaway prices instead of losing everything to the soldiers.

I JUST WANT TO GET HOME

“I am tired of the gunshots and the unpredictable fights and the bad temper of the South Sudanese. I just want to go back home,” she said.

In the plane once the journey home begun, most of the returnees soon fell asleep, tired and exhausted.

They bore a sad and forlorn look of someone forced to accept a reality that was all too harsh to even imagine. There was despair and hope in their eyes.

Kenyan ambassador to South Sudan Cleland Leshore has had his hands full in the past few weeks.

His first nightmare was locating Kenyans in the far- flung areas of South Sudan. The problem, he said, was that most Kenyans has not registered with the embassy.

In his files, there were only 12,000 registered Kenyans in South Sudan.

Since the chaos erupted however, over 20,000 Kenyans have returned home through their own means or through NGOs or through the UN or oil companies they worked for. Another 3,000 were officially evacuated.

The Foreign Affairs office estimates that about 7,000 more are still in South Sudan.

“The problem is that most Kenyans who come to South Sudan do so informally.

They have no proper documents and in fact some do not even understand what alien documentation is all about. To make matters worse, once they get to Juba, they do not notify the embassy,” Mr Leshore said.

The issue, he said during a press briefing in Juba, forced them to request a group of Kenyans to move around speaking in Kenyan ethnic languages to help them with the identification.

The truth of the matter however, is that no one knows for sure how many Kenyans were in South Sudan and how many are still in there.

CIVIL WAR

The coup led by Riek Machar has left about 1,000 people dead and over 200,000 people displaced in what started out as a difference between the presidential guards then mutated into a coup and after some days turned into ethnic killings.

The ambassador however anticipates a positive turn of events as the two warring groups head to the negotiation table over the weekend in Addis Ababa.

There is a possibility of good news from Addis but even then, the political undercurrents in Juba (which is still government controlled) tell of a tense time a head.