By Simon Kobia
The Marsabit war cemetery is one of the more visible historical sites treasured in the vast region. It carries a rich history of activities that took place in the area in the colonial era and the World wars.
Located at a corner of Marsabit town, the cemetery is enclosed with the larger public cemetery, with its graves of ordinary people.
Here lie the 24 brave soldiers who served in the Commonwealth East African did during the 1939- 1945 world war.
Not much happens around the place and the dead men’s rest place is in a state of neglect. The national government seemed to have turned its back on the historical site. Unfortunately, the same applies to the county government, who should have spruced up the facility, due to its importance as a tourist attraction. It is only recently when residents of the town were reminded of the existence of the cemetery during a cleaning exercise organized by women from the Anglican Church of Kenya. The sorry state of the cemetery was revealed during the clean-up.
The exercise was graced by Deputy Governor Solomon Gubo who expressed the commitment of his government to allocate resources to spruce up the war and public cemeteries. Decrepit war cemeteries in Kenya which have the potential to be turned into attraction sites are an eyesore, with National Museums of Kenya, Kenya Tourism Board, and the County Governments attracting criticism from residents and other stakeholders. Other areas in Kenya where war cemeteries are found include Nairobi, Nyeri, and Nanyuki.
