Unknown assailants bring down Mandera county revenue offices with bazooka

BY ADOW JUBAT

Mandera, Kenya: A security guard was seriously shot in the head and Mandera county revenue offices reduced to ashes after unknown assailants hit the building with a bazooka on Friday morning in Mandera town.

The attack, which comes barely five days after another explosive attack on two toll stations, also used by the Mandera County government for tax collection, failed to destroy its intended structure.

Mandera East OCPD Jackson Rotich said unknown armed gangs driving in a pickup Toyota arrived at the county offices at Mandera Bus Park before aiming a bazooka selectively at the offices.

“Unknown armed people arrived at the county office which was used to collect revenue by the county revenue officials at 1.30 am and then shot at the building with the bazooka. Part of the building collapsed before burning to ashes,” the OCPD said.

He added: “Nothing was salvaged from the office building. Everything inside the offices was burnt down including furniture, computers and essential files with financial records.”

The OCPD said one of the watchmen guarding the offices was shot in the head by the bandits who started shooting indiscriminately as they retreated, while his colleague escaped unscathed.

Rotich said the motive of the assailants couldn’t immediately be established and the security officers were sifting through the wreckage and interviewing some eye-witnesses to find out who was behind the attack and what their motive was.

However, the police boss noted that they were following leads on claims that those behind the incident include some business people who are opposed to the new taxes imposed on vehicles loading and offloading passengers at the bus park.