Chaos erupt at Namanga border as a Kenyan businessman is allegedly abducted

Residents clash at Namanga border [Photo/Peterson Githaiga]

Several people were injured when chaos erupted at Namanga town on the Kenya-Tanzania border yesterday.

This followed reports that a Kenyan businessman had been abducted by armed men.

Transport was paralyzed for the better part of the day as the town was turned to be a battle ground between Kenyans and Tanzanians with the police frantically trying to separate both sides.

Tourists heading to both countries were stranded for hours at the border point.

Trouble started when more than five men from the Tanzania side brandishing guns accosted the businessman known as Mohamed and bundled him into their car.

Shots fired

According to a community policing official who requested anonymity, the businessman shouted for help prompting the gunmen to shoot in the air several times in an attempt to scare away residents who rushed to his rescue. 

He said as the gunmen continued shooting in the air as they drove across the border into Tanzania.

In response, residents barricaded the Nairobi-Namanga Highway with bonfires and stones cutting off traffic to and from the two countries.

The situation worsened when residents from both sides of the border started pelting each other with stones prompting the police to use teargas to disperse them.

Kajiado Central MP Memusi Kanchori later arrived and pleaded with the residents to calm down and await investigations into the abduction.

"Fighting will not solve anything but only worsen the situation," he said.

Tensions remained high in the area.