Two bodies have been recovered as the search for the missing Kenyans who went missing after they came under attack from suspected Dassanech militia from Ethiopia, in Todonyang along the Kenya-Ethiopia border, continues.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, in an update issued on Wednesday, February 26, 2025, stated that the bodies of a man and a woman, estimated to be aged between late 20s and early 30s, had been recovered.
“Further to my earlier update on the ongoing search of missing Kenyans following the Todanyang incident, I would like to report that two bodies of a man and a woman, estimated to be aged between late 20s and early 30s, have been recovered,” Murkomen stated.
“The government stands in solidarity with those who have lost their loved ones and those whose family members are still unaccounted for.”
FURTHER UPDATE ON THE SEARCH OF MISSING KENYAN CITIZENS FOLLOWING CROSS-BORDER ATTACK IN TODONYANG ALONG THE KENYA-ETHIOPIA BORDER pic.twitter.com/75CILjWuyr
— KIPCHUMBA MURKOMEN, E.G.H (@kipmurkomen) February 26, 2025
Murkomen on search efforts
In an earlier update, Murkomen had stated that following diplomatic discussions in Nairobi between Kenyan and Ethiopian officials, Kenyan team had been allowed full access to search for the missing persons on the Ethiopian side.
Murkomen in the statement noted that the team from the Kenyan side, working with their Ethiopian counterparts, had on Wednesday, February 26, accessed the area of the incident and were actively searching for the missing persons and 15 boats.
“On Tuesday, 25th February, 2025, diplomatic discussions in Nairobi between Kenyan and Ethiopian officials bore fruits late in the evening allowing full access to the Kenyan team to search for the missing persons on the Ethiopian side. Today, the team from the Kenyan side, working with their Ethiopian counterparts, accessed the area of the incident and is currently searching for the missing persons and 15 boats,” Murkomen said.
Murkomen on Todonyang clashes
The group of Kenyan fishermen who were on a routine fishing mission in Lake Turkana came under attack on Saturday, February 22, 2025.
Due to poor communication on the Ethiopian side, Murkomen says information of the attack started reaching the Kenyan authorities late at night.
As a result, efforts were immediately made by the local security agencies in Turkana County to establish the magnitude of the attack.
A reporting desk was then established at the Todonyang GSU camp for residents to report missing persons on Sunday, February 23, 2025.
A security team led by the Turkana County Commissioner made contact with Ethiopian authorities, who promised them access to the Ethiopian side to commence a search and rescue operation.