Family buries KDF soldier killed in Kolbiyow attack

Body of slain KDF Sergeant Kassim Roba received at Tana River Airstrip for burial. Photo/Amos Sambu

One of the Kenyan Soldiers who were killed by Al Shabaab militants in Somalia on Thursday last week has been buried at Madogo, Tana River County, in accordance with the Islamic rites amid calls by mourners that Kenya should withdraw troops serving in Somalia.

Sergeant Kassim Roba was among the nine soldiers that KDF disclosed were killed when Al-Shabaab fighters attempted to overrun their Kolbiyow camp, about 18 kilometres from the Kenya  Somalia border, inside the worn torn country.

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Al-Shabaab, however, put the figure of slain soldiers at more than 50. While speaking at the Muslim cemetery, the deceased’s brother, Said Roba, implored the government to retract soldiers from inside Somalia and instead place them at the border, to protect the country.
 
“We cannot continue burying our loved ones in the name of fighting terrorism. Some of the soldiers are so young and they leave young families that become a burden to those left to look after them,” he said.

Said regretted the loss of his brother saying that his family depended on Sergeant Roba as their breadwinner and for the education of his seven siblings.

“It’s such a painful experience for our entire family. We urge the government to ensure that the children of the late Roba continue with their school,” he said.

Sergeant Roba, 46, who joined the army in 1990 left a widow Seretha Salat Wato and five children.

His son, Jamal Kassim, a form two student said: “I’m worried about my education and that of my three siblings”. His sister completed college last year and is unemployed.

The body of the slain soldier was received by colleagues, relatives and friends from Nairobi in a military aircraft at the Garissa military airstrip.