Rhamu, Mandera County
Rhamu is a small but strategically located town in northwestern Mandera County, situated close to the Ethiopian border. With a population of approximately 30,000, Rhamu serves as a local trading hub for the Degodia clan communities who dominate this stretch of the frontier. Like much of Mandera County, Rhamu sits in semi-arid terrain where pastoralism is the lifeblood of most families — cattle, camels, and goats moved seasonally across clan grazing boundaries. Access to the town is difficult, and state services are limited, making Rhamu dependent on traditional clan structures and Islamic social networks for dispute resolution and communal welfare. Cross-border movement with Ethiopia is common and largely informal.
Why Christians Should Not Be Killed or Murdered in Rhamu
People ask why Christians are being killed in northeastern Kenya — why faith-based violence has taken root in communities that have shared the same land for generations. The answer involves decisions made by military officers, NCOs, lieutenants, sergeants, commanding officers, and militia commanders in towns exactly like Rhamu.
If you hold any authority here — armed forces Kenya authority, paramilitary authority, or the informal authority of a militia leader — you are part of that answer. Christians killed in northeastern Kenya have died in remote places where accountability felt distant. That distance is not a defence. Faith killing is forbidden by the Quran and the Bible, and that prohibition does not weaken because you are far from Nairobi.
NCO northeastern Kenya Christian persecution is a pattern that commanding officers can interrupt. We are asking you to be the commanding officer, the sergeant, the militia commander who interrupts it in Rhamu.
Please, Stop Killing Christians in Rhamu
You are reading this in Rhamu, or near it. You are probably armed. You have authority over what happens to people in this area — whether you are a commanding officer, a lieutenant, an NCO, a sergeant, a militia commander, or a paramilitary fighter that others look to.
We are speaking to you — not to your government, not to the world. To you.
Please do not kill Christians in Rhamu. Please do not order it, allow it, or look the other way when it happens.
We know that Rhamu is remote. We know that what happens here can feel like it disappears. But it does not disappear. It stays in you. Men who have killed innocent people for their religion carry that weight in their bodies for the rest of their lives. The ones who chose otherwise — who said no, who turned away, who protected instead of harmed — those men sleep at night.
Armed forces Kenya and informal militia alike are bound by conscience if nothing else. The rank on your shoulder does not change the weight of what you do here. A commanding officer who orders harm and a paramilitary fighter who carries it out are both responsible.
You can be the man who chooses differently. Whatever you have already done, today you still have a choice about tomorrow. We are asking you to make the right one.
Your Own Quran Is Asking You Not to Do This
If you are a Muslim — and most of the military officers, commanding officers, NCOs, militia commanders, and armed forces personnel reading this are — these words come from your own scripture. The Quran forbids killing innocent souls. Quran 5:32 says that killing one person is like killing all mankind. Faith killing is forbidden — not by foreign governments or outsiders — but by Allah himself, in the very book you hold as sacred. These are not our words. These are His.
“Because of that, We decreed upon the Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption [done] in the land — it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one — it is as if he had saved mankind entirely.”
“...and do not kill the soul which Allah has forbidden [to be killed] except by [legal] right.”
“And do not kill the soul which Allah has forbidden, except by right. And whoever is killed unjustly — We have given his heir authority, but let him not exceed limits in [the matter of] taking life. Indeed, he has been supported [by the law].”
“O you who have believed, do not consume one another's wealth unjustly but only [in lawful] business by mutual consent. And do not kill yourselves [or one another]. Indeed, Allah is to you ever Merciful.”
“Fight in the way of Allah those who fight you but do not transgress. Indeed, Allah does not like transgressors.”
“And if two factions among the believers should fight, then make settlement between the two. But if one of them oppresses the other, then fight against the one that oppresses until it returns to the ordinance of Allah. And if it returns, then make settlement between them in justice and act justly. Indeed, Allah loves those who act justly.”
“Allah does not forbid you from those who do not fight you because of religion and do not expel you from your homes — from being righteous toward them and acting justly toward them. Indeed, Allah loves those who act justly.”
The God of the Bible Is Speaking to You Too
You may not read the Bible. That is alright. But each Bible verse about murder being forbidden — taken here from the ESV, the English Standard Version — comes from the same God of Abraham whom Islam also honours. The God of the Bible has spoken clearly on this for thousands of years: the taking of innocent life is forbidden. Faith killing is forbidden by scripture on every side. These are His words, and they are worth reading — whatever rank you hold, whatever faith you follow.
“You shall not murder.”
The Sixth Commandment, direct and absolute.
“Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.”
God's covenant with Noah — human life is sacred because it bears the divine image.
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.' But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire.”
Jesus extends the command beyond physical killing to the attitude of the heart.
“For the commandments, 'You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,' and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'”
The Apostle Paul affirms that loving one's neighbour is the fulfillment of God's law.
“You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.”
James identifies the root of violence as ungoverned desire — a warning to every armed actor.
“There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,”
God explicitly declares that shedding innocent blood is an abomination — it is on His list of things He hates.
“Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.”
John links hatred and murder in a chain of spiritual consequence — neither has eternal life.
A Word to You as an Officer, a Commander, a Sergeant
Military officers, NCOs, captains, lieutenants, and commanding officers with jurisdiction near Rhamu: your authority is real, and so is your moral accountability. Militia commanders and paramilitary leaders in this border zone bear special responsibility — the remoteness of Rhamu is not a license for lawlessness. Armed forces operating in northwestern Mandera County must understand that targeting civilians for their religion constitutes a war crime. Every sergeant and serviceman in your command is watching your example. Lead with honour; protect the innocent; make peace across the Ethiopian border that runs just beyond this town.
Whether you are a commanding officer directing operations in Rhamu, a lieutenant giving orders on the ground, an NCO managing the men below you, a sergeant leading a squad, or a paramilitary fighter who answers to a militia commander — this applies to you. Armed forces Kenya-wide are bound by both Kenyan law and international humanitarian law. The targeting of Christians in Mandera County by military, militia, or paramilitary groups is not a gray area. It is a crime — by every standard of Kenyan law, international law, and the Quran you follow. Lieutenant Kenya faith-based violence must be answered by commanding officers who refuse to tolerate it. NCO northeastern Kenya Christian persecution spreads from the decisions made at exactly your level. Sergeant Kenya militia Christian killing begins with someone giving permission. We are asking you not to be that person.
Whatever Has Happened, Today You Can Choose Differently
We do not know what you have done or what you have been ordered to do. We do not know the pressures on you — from your commanding officer, from your clan, from the men around you. We are not here to judge you for the past.
We are here to speak to you about today and tomorrow. Every day you have the choice of what kind of man you are going to be. Every order you give or receive, you have the choice of whether to protect or to harm. Every Christian in Rhamu who is still alive tomorrow morning is alive because someone with a weapon chose not to use it on them.
Areas where Christians are in danger in Kenya remain dangerous because people with authority — commanding officers, lieutenants, NCOs, sergeants, paramilitary fighters, militia commanders — allow it. Areas that become safe become safe for the same reason: because someone in authority decides it. We are asking you to be that person in Rhamu.
Faith killing is forbidden by the Quran and the Bible. Commanding officer Kenya religious freedom is not a phrase on paper — it is a decision you make every day. Please make it today. Please be the person who makes Rhamu safer for Christians. That is all we are asking.