Bound in pairs, shot in the head: Mystery surrounds killing of five men in Tana River
According to investigators, a camel herder who had taken his animals to a nearby water point heard gunshots and spotted armed men firing at individuals who were lying on the ground. Fearing for his life, he fled and alerted village elders in Biyagadud village.
Police in Tana River County are investigating what appears to have been a summary execution after five men were found shot dead with their hands tied in pairs near a watering point in Biyagadud, Bangale Sub-County.
Investigators believe the victims may have been abducted, transported to the remote location and executed at close range by armed assailants in a targeted attack linked to simmering inter-clan tensions in the area.
The killings were reported yesterday evening, Sunday June 21, 2026 although police say the shooting occurred at around 12.30 pm on Saturday.
According to investigators, a camel herder who had taken his animals to a nearby water point heard gunshots and spotted armed men firing at individuals who were lying on the ground. Fearing for his life, he fled and alerted village elders in Biyagadud village.
When the elders arrived at the scene, they found the bodies of five men, their hands reportedly tied in pairs, suggesting they may have been restrained before being killed.
Police officers who later processed the scene identified the deceased as members of the Degodia community.
They were named as Abdi Kullow, 33, who suffered a gunshot wound to the right side of the head; Osman Abdi Ibrahim, 35, who was shot in the chin and right palm; Mohamed Adow, 25, who sustained a gunshot wound to the forehead with the bullet exiting through the back of the head; Siyat Jele, 40, who was also shot in the forehead; and Sahal Hile, 28, who was shot in the right forehead.
Investigators said the nature of the injuries, coupled with the victims having been found bound, points to a possible execution-style killing.
Detectives are pursuing leads to establish who abducted the men, how they were moved to the isolated location and the motive behind the attack.
Efforts by police to transfer the bodies to Garissa Level 5 Hospital mortuary for post-mortem examinations were frustrated after relatives and members of the public resisted the move and buried the victims in accordance with Islamic rites.
The killings come amid heightened tensions between the Degodia and Wardei communities in Bangale.
On Saturday, security officers arrested a man described by police as a Wardei youth leader over allegations that he was mobilising youths to incite ethnic violence.
Police said they recovered Sh340,000 from his residence, which investigators suspect was part of funds intended to facilitate the mobilisation.
Cases of targeted killings by suspected hitmen have been on the rise.
On April 30, 2025, former Kasipul Member of Parliament Charles Ong’ondo Were was shot dead on evening after his vehicle stopped at a traffic light on Ngong Road, in Nairobi in what was termed as targeted killing.
And in September 2025, prominent Nairobi lawyer Mathew Kyalo Mbobu was shot and killed in a targeted drive-by shooting in Karen, Nairobi.
He was driving his Toyota Land Cruiser V8 along Magadi Road near the Galleria–Brookhouse roundabout when a gunman on a motorcycle pulled alongside his vehicle and opened fire at close range.
