LAMU, Kenya, Jan 3 – Four people suspected to have participated in the ambush on two buses travelling along the Lamu – Garsen Highway, Thursday, have been killed by a security operation mounted by the Kenya Defence Forces deployed in the Nyongoro area flashpoint.
“One militant was been captured alive,” Lamu County Commissioner Irungu Macharia confirmed.
“Security officers drawn from various KDF outfits are in pursuit of the other suspects who might be wounded following a overnight gun fight,” said Macharia.
He has further appealed to members of the public and medical practitioners in health facilities to be vigilant and immediately alert security agencies of the any person who might be suffering from gunshot wounds.
Three people died – bus conductor and 2 passengers – in the Thursday mid-day attack on two buses which were in a convoy escorted by security personel.
The Management of Simba Coach raised the first alarm after their driver reported that his conductor and two male passengers were among those who had been killed by the militants after they were unable to comply with the attackers’ orders.
But Raymond Juma, who is a driver with Mombasa Raha narrated how he managed to save his life and those of his passengers after he sped off from the militants who had flagged down his 44-seater bus.
“Simba Coach and TSS were the buses that were behind me; unfortunately they stopped when they were flagged down. I saw when they killed three men including the bus conductor because they were unable to perform a ritual associated with the Muslim faith.
The militants however fled into the forested area when they saw the police accelerating towards the scene … otherwise the death toll would have been higher,” said Juma.
Lamu County Commissioner Macharia has assured Kenyans that the government has deployed security teams to pursue and apprehend the attackers who fled into the nearby expansive Boni Forest.
