Former Education Permanent Secretary and one time presidential aspirant James Ole Kiyiapi’s kin is among the eleven Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) gallant soldiers who perished during a terrorist attack in Somalia.
The brother, Johnson Olemoi Kiyiapi was among KDF troops operating under AMISOM forces whose vehicle ran over an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in Gedo, Somalia on Monday at noon.
“I am in shock and in mourning. My young brother Johnson Olemoi Kiyiapi was among other soldiers killed in Somalia yesterday, through an improvised explosive device. They paid the ultimate price and no news item on who they are – they die incognito,” he tweeted.
Reports indicate that a lorry carrying the troops ran over an IED that had been set on the roadside by Al-Shabaab militants operating in the area.
The lorry was in a convoy that had drawn water from a point inside Kenya and was crossing into Somalia for use when the incident happened at about 1 pm.
Five other military personnel sustained injuries following the attack and were airlifted back to the country for further treatment, according to officials.
The soldiers were attached to the African Mission in Somalia (Amisom) and were from the Kenya Army’s 15 Batallion Kenya Rifles, which is based in the outskirts of Mombasa.