62 'stuck' in Mandera to leave by bus

More than 60 people who have been camping at a military facility in Mandera waiting to be evacuated have opted to use a bus to Nairobi.

The 62 men and women have booked buses to travel from Mandera.

And the bus operators have so far secured police escorts to leave as soon as the vehicles are available.

Some of those in the area said the buses were overbooked and have had to wait until today to be able to leave.

Police said the 62 are the last group to leave the county in the wake of attacks by Al-Shabaab militants, despite calls for them to stay.

"They have booked buses and secured protection from us before they leave as soon as the vehicles are available," said a police officer who is aware of the situation there.

They are mostly non-locals who have expressed fear of attacks by the Islamist insurgents.

The group had asked the Government to evacuate them using aircraft because poor roads had made it easy for Al-Shabaab militants to attack vehicles.

Public Service Head Joseph Kinyua last week visited the area and pleaded with non-residents not to leave the county, promising adequate security.

Governor Ali Roba said they had made arrangements to ensure security. Top security officials in the region were in Mandera at the weekend to assure those leaving of security.

MASS EXODUS

The exodus came after Al-Shabaab militants killed 28 people, mostly teachers, who were travelling by bus to Nairobi a week ago.

At the same time, more than 150 teachers in Mandera have signed transfer forms following rising insecurity in the region.

Following the recent Mandera attack that left 21 teachers dead, the region may experience a mass exodus of teachers when schools re-open in January.

Monday, 15 teachers filled transfer forms at the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) office in Nairobi.

The union has also asked all teachers from Mandera to fill the forms so that they are moved to secure grounds.

Speaking at a press conference Monday, Kuppet Secretary General Akello Misori said the union will not condone punishment of teachers for sins they have not committed.

"We won't mince words with the Government or the Teachers Service Commission. We have no option left but to ask all the teachers from Mandera to vacate before January 2015," he said.