Armed thugs attack motorists along key route

By Job Weru and Boniface Gikandi

Armed thugs who had erected a roadblock at Saba Saba trading centre on Monday terrorised motorists plying the Nairobi-Murang’a road.

Among those attacked by the gang was a Standard Group distribution van that was heading to Nyeri and Isiolo to deliver newspapers.

Several other motorists and boda boda operators also fell victim to the gang, which had blocked the road using banana trunks.

Standard Group driver Edward Koome was delivering newspapers from Nairobi to Isiolo, through Murang’a, when he came across the gang. "As I approached the section at around 2am, I saw bundles of banana trunks spread across the road. I then spotted a group of about ten men advance from nearby farms and that is when I decided to overrun the barricades and sped away," said Koome.

The robbers hurled stones at the vehicle, shattering the driver’s windscreen and the front bumper, but Koome managed to control the vehicle until he reached Saba Saba Police Post where he reported the incident.

arrest culprits

"Police could not assist me. They claimed they did not have a vehicle. They also told me that four other motorists had reported similar attacks," he said.

However, Central PPO John Mbijjiwe intervened and dispatched highway and regular police officers to the scene. No arrest was made.

On Monday Murang’a OCPD Anthony Onyango confirmed the incident saying police have launched investigation.

Onyango said police are determined to arrest the culprits who are resuming old habits of terrorising motorists at night.

Similar cases were reported along Kenol-Makuyu and Kiganjo-Nanyuki sections of Nanyuki-Isiolo highway, but intervention by police helped maintain sanity.