Parliamentary committee investigates killings

A Kenyan parliamentary committee has summoned two cabinet ministers to explain the slaying of 10 Kenyans, including eight policemen, by Ethiopian militia. The Minister of State in charge of Defence, Marsden Madoka, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Bonaya Godana have been called to appear before the House Defence and Foreign Affairs Committee to explain the circumstances of the killings, and the abduction of a security officer in Moyale, on the Ethiopian border. The decision is the first of its kind.

Representatives from the Kenyan Foreign Affairs ministry and the Ethiopian embassy in Nairobi met soon after the incident this month, while public demonstrations were held near the border protesting the killings. “It is normal practice for a government to allay fears by isuing a protest note or making a public statement on cross border incidents but in the absence of either, the House was compelled to react on the silence by summoning the ministers responsible,” David Musila, the committee chairman told journalists. He said that parliament was obliged to question relations between Kenya and its neighbours as invasions were a violation of territorial sovereignty. Musila told IRIN it was time Kenya took matters of security seriously if it expected to attract foriegn investors, tourists and enjoy confidence of development partners.