Todonyang Massacre – 40 Still Missing, CS Tuya Grilled over Security Failures

A storm is brewing over Kenya’s security response to the Todonyang massacre, with Defence Cabinet Secretary Soipan Tuya coming under fire from lawmakers over the government's sluggish handling of the situation. On February 22, 2025, armed attackers believed to be members of the Dassanech militia crossed the Kenya-Ethiopia border and descended on the quiet fishing villages of Lotiira and Lopeimukat in Todonyang, Turkana County. The heavily armed group ambushed unsuspecting fishermen and traders along the shores of Lake Turkana. Witnesses later described hearing gunshots and watching their neighbors either gunned down or dragged toward the lake—many never to be seen again.

Todonyang Massacre – 40 Still Missing, CS Tuya Grilled over Security Failures

The number of those missing remains contested. Local leaders insist more than 40 Kenyans vanished that day. To date, only two or three bodies have been recovered. The remaining victims are unaccounted for. The uncertainty surrounding their fate continues to haunt families and the broader Turkana community. In a symbolic but painful act, Turkana Governor Jeremiah Lomorukai recently unveiled a memorial monument bearing the names of all 40 missing persons. The names now etched into stone are a stark reminder of lives potentially lost and justice yet to be served.

Despite the strong sentiments expressed locally, the national government has not officially declared the victims dead. Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has disputed the death toll, pointing to the absence of sufficient forensic evidence. He suggested that many of the missing may have drowned in Lake Turkana during the attack and could be unrecoverable due to the lake’s dangerous conditions. He also left open the possibility that some may still be alive, displaced, or held across the border—though no proof has yet emerged.

Frustration among residents is mounting. Families in Todonyang and surrounding villages continue to report missing loved ones, hoping for information, recovery, or at least acknowledgment. The Kenya Red Cross established a reporting desk at the Todonyang General Service Unit camp, which has logged over 30 formal missing persons reports. Search efforts, involving motorboats and divers, have been deployed, though their progress is hindered by rough terrain, limited state resources, and diplomatic red tape.

Relief efforts have begun, albeit slowly. Governor Lomorukai has appealed to development partners for assistance, estimating that the attacks destroyed at least 56 boats and more than 500 fishing nets. For a community reliant on lake-based fishing, the economic consequences are as devastating as the human toll. The Kenya Red Cross, KOICA, and UNICEF have partnered with the county government to supply emergency food and support for widows and displaced families.

Five months after the attack, national leaders have been compelled to respond—if only under pressure. On August 12, 2025, Defence Cabinet Secretary Soipan Tuya was summoned by the National Assembly Committee on Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Relations. In a tense session, MPs demanded to know why the government had failed to act quickly, why there was no swift military response, and whether any inter-ministerial coordination existed to handle such security failures. Lawmakers described the Todonyang case not just as a local incident, but as a test of Kenya’s commitment to protecting its citizens and defending its sovereignty.

CS Tuya maintained that the attack took place in internal waters and therefore did not fall under the immediate jurisdiction of the Kenya Defence Forces. Instead, she insisted the Ministry of Interior was the lead actor in the response. Her argument that Defence was only activated once a threat was classified as military in nature angered some MPs, who viewed it as bureaucratic blame-shifting. Turkana North MP Ekwom Nabuin described the failure to act as government negligence. Mandera North MP Bashir Abdullahi questioned whether similar inaction would occur if the attack had taken place in central Kenya or Nairobi. Kamukunji MP Yusuf Hassan called it a failure of national sovereignty, warning that Kenya was sending a dangerous message about its vulnerability.

Tuya confirmed that the government had formally sent a protest note to Ethiopia and was planning the establishment of a permanent KDF base in Turkana East. However, she also admitted that the land for the base had not yet been allocated, reflecting the broader problem of delayed state presence in the region. She noted that KDF had already dispatched helicopter patrols and special forces to secure the border area but acknowledged that more needs to be done to ensure lasting protection.

The people of Turkana are not unfamiliar with tragedy. In 2011, a similar attack in Todonyang left 42 people dead. The region has long been described as a neglected frontier, where government presence is minimal and cross-border militia attacks occur with disturbing frequency. In the past decade, little has changed. Roads are few, security installations sparse, and communication networks unreliable. These structural deficiencies continue to expose Turkana residents to harm with little recourse or support.

The broader issue is not just one of border protection, but of equity. Turkana residents and their representatives argue that the state responds far more swiftly to incidents in wealthier or more connected parts of the country. When 40 Kenyans disappear in Turkana, the nation barely takes notice. There are no national days of mourning, no presidential addresses, and no state funerals. Instead, local communities are left to bury their dead—if they can find them—and rebuild with what little they have.

Behind every missing person is a family frozen in grief. One woman, now widowed, described visiting the lakeshore every morning, hoping that the lake would give her back a husband’s body. Children have stopped going to school, some fearful that their villages could be next. Economic life has stalled. And yet, five months on, the silence from the central government still rings loudly.

The Todonyang massacre is not just an isolated incident—it is a national wake-up call. A call to reevaluate Kenya’s border security strategy, to prioritize the needs of its most vulnerable citizens, and to finally treat the residents of northern Kenya as equals in both protection and policy. The people of Turkana are not asking for charity. They are asking for justice, dignity, and the right to feel safe in their own homeland.

For healing to begin, there must be recognition. Recognition that lives were lost. That a community was scarred. And that the state cannot look away. Only then can Kenya begin to restore the trust it has lost—not only in Todonyang but across every corner of the country that has been made to feel forgotten.

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