Seven killed in another night of terror in Lamu

Lamu, Kenya: Thirteen days after 22 people were killed in a brutal raid on a police station in Tana River and Hindi township in Lamu County, attackers struck again on Friday evening, killing passengers and police officers on duty.

Seven people, including four policemen from the Rural Border Patrol Unit (RBPU), a nurse who was returning to his Hindi Dispensary station, and two other unidentified passengers were killed when armed militiamen attacked a bus on the Mombasa-Lamu highway. The 7pm attack took place at Masha Masha between Witu and Mpeketoni in Lamu County.

Following the attack, the Government yesterday issued a night travel ban for public service vehicles and private cars on the Malindi-Lamu Highway. Issuing the ban, Coast Regional Coordinator Samuel Kilele said no vehicle would be allowed to operate on the road past 6pm.

No arrests

Although Somalia’s Al Shabaab terrorist group has claimed responsibility for Friday’s attack on the bus owned by Tahmeed Bus Service, security personnel in the area are lost for words on why they have been unable to stem the bloodletting.

Alarmed by the high death toll among security officers and the audacity of the attackers, the Lamu Security Committee was cagey about the statistics of Friday’s killings as reports filtered in that several passengers who fled the bus into nearby bushes and forests were still unaccounted for at the time of going to press.

Like in previous raids, none of the attackers has been apprehended. Since the July 6 attack on Gamba police station in Tana River County and Hindi in Lamu County, Deputy Inspector General of Police Simon Arachi has been in charge of operations in the area. There are also troops from the Kenya Defence Forces in Hindi and nearby forests, who have been combing the area to flush out the raiders.

The Standard on Sunday has learnt that the latest attack was not entirely unexpected because intelligence reports had been circulated on Tuesday about an impending attack in the Coast region. The National Intelligence Services circulated the alert to all local police stations. According to the report, about 100 newly trained Al Shabaab militiamen have infiltrated Tana River, Lamu, Kilifi and Mombasa counties in cells of 10 members each.

Three Al Shabaab suspects were arrested in Magarini in Malindi on Thursday and are believed to have been detained in an unknown station in Lamu County. Unconfirmed reports say officers fled Gamba Police Station on Friday for fear that the militia could attack the station to set free a suspect said to have been detained since early last week.

Reports from the scene of the Friday attack indicated that about 20 attackers, who survivors say were under the command of a woman, flagged down the bus as it approached Masha Masha.

 

When the driver declined to stop, the attackers ambushed a lone motorist, killed him and took away his Toyota Probox car, gave chase to the bus, overtook and blocked it, forcing the driver to stop. The attackers then forced their way into the bus and attempted to commandeer it into the nearby bushes, when police officers from the RBPU heading to Mpeketoni appeared.

Fierce gun fight

Speaking to The Standard on Sunday at the Malindi District Hospital, the police driver, Christopher Mburu, said his team had been assigned to patrol that section of the road from 6.30pm and were heading to Mpeketoni when they came across the incident. When they tried to intervene, they were attacked by the hijackers.

“I saw the bus and I thought there was an accident. So I decided to slow down as we approached,” he said. But before he could stop his car, the attackers shot at them. “I knew we were under attack and I jumped out of the vehicle with my gun and took position,” he recalls.

A fierce fire exchange ensued between the officers and the attackers, some who had taken cover on both sides of the road while the others were terrorising passengers inside the bus. Mburu was shot in the stomach.

“I fainted, and when I regained consciousness, I found myself inside an ambulance heading to hospital,” he recalls.

The officer and a male passenger who had also sustained gun-shot wounds were rushed to the Malindi District Hospital. Doctors at the facility operated on him and removed the bullet. The passenger died while undergoing treatment.

Lamu County Commissioner Mirii Njenga said a contigent of heavily armed police officers was persuing the attackers. According Njenga, the incident occurred a few minutes to 7pm when the attackers carjacked a Probox vehicle, killed the driver and used it to block the bus.

Njenga said assailants blocked the road and wanted to commandeer it into the forested Soroko area. “Our men, who were patrolling the area, got to the scene in good time and a fierce gun battle ensued between the police and the attackers,” said Njenga.

The county commissioner said had police officers not arrived in time, the situation could have been worse, as the attackers could have successfully driven the bus into the forest and brutalised the passengers.

Njenga said security agencies are in control of the situation despite “some minor hiccups”. He said the Government had provided additional security personnel and equipment.

The county commissioner said more KDF forces had arrived in the area to help contain the situation.

Kenya Red Cross Society Officials said four other passengers, including three police officers, were treated with minor gun injuries at Witu dispensary and discharged.