Incident Summary:

01/04/2008: Kenyan militias crossed into Uganda and pushed at least 30 Kenyan refugees into the Kipkaren River in the Rift Valley Province of western Kenya 50 miles from the Uganda border where they drowned. This attack was part of the uprising and tribal conflict following the Kenyan presidential elections.

GTD ID:
200801040014

When:
2008-01-04

Country:
Kenya

Region:
Sub-Saharan Africa

Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:

Rift Valley

City:
Kipkaren

Attack Information
Type of Attack (more) Armed Assault
Successful Attack? (more) Yes
Target Information (more)
Target Type: Private Citizens & Property
Name of Entity Rival Tribe
Specific Description Tribe members
Nationality of Target Kenya
Additional Information
Hostages No
Ransom No
Property Damage No
Weapon Information
Type Sub-type
Firearms Unknown Gun Type
Weapon Details
The primary weapons were guns, to intimidate people into the river. However, the ultimate weapon was the river itself.
Additional Information
Suicide Attack?No
Part of Multiple Incident?No
Criterion 1 (more) Yes
Criterion 2 (more) Yes
Criterion 3 (more) Yes
Doubt Terrorism Proper (more) No
Additional Information The conflict in this area is that the President "won" re-election, and minority tribes accused him of rigging the election. Several Kenyans, especially those from the majority tribe, fled the rioting that occurred after the election results were announced. In this case, the victims were members of the majority tribe, and the perpetrators were members of the minority.
Perpetrator Group Information
Group Name Claimed Responsibility
Unknown No
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators Unknown
Number of Captured Perpetrators 0
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties 30 Fatalities
Total Number of Fatalities 30
Number of U.S. Fatalities 0
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities 0
Total Number of Injured Unknown
Number of U.S. Injured 0
Number of Perpetrators Injured 0
Sources
"At least 30 Kenyan refugees drowned in Uganda: official," Agence France Presse, January 7, 2008.
Al-Mahdi Ssenkabirwa, John Emojong and Andrew Bagala, "Thirty fleeing Kenyans Drown," Daily Moniter, January 7, 2008.
Michelle Faul, "Kenyan opposition calls off rallies; US envoy says Kenyans were cheated in vote," The Associated Press, January 7, 2008.