Buses attacked in Lamu
Security forces at the Coast. An attack on a convoy of five buses on the Lamu-Mombasa road was reportedly repelled. FILE PHOTO | LABAN WALLOGA
What you need to know:
- Gunfire reportedly lasted twenty minutes.
- There were no casualties.
A convoy of five buses was on Tuesday evening ambushed on the Lamu-Mombasa road.
According to passengers who spoke to the Nation via telephone, they were attacked at around 6.30pm at Milihoi in Mkunumbi, Lamu. Gunshots were heard from different directions, forcing the drivers to turn around and head to Mkunumbi Town where they stayed until the gunfire died down.
The firefight is said to have lasted for about twenty minutes.
“We were in a convoy of five buses. When we reached Milihoi, which is a place between Mpekeoni and Hindi, we heard gunshots in the air.
“The police escorting the convoy ordered us to make an immediate U-turn back to Mkunumbi town centre where we spent about an hour while waiting for more police to escort us. During all of this, the gunshots could still be heard in the air. That took about twenty minutes,” said Mr Tawfiq Sayid, a passenger.
A local administrator who talked to the Nation on condition of anonymity said he also heard the gunshots about 2 kilometres from where he was.
However, Lamu County Police Coordinating Commander Chrispus Mutali denied having any knowledge of the attack and rubbished the matter, terming it an “unreliable rumour”.
“We are on the ground … We are not aware of any attack on any convoy and so we are treating this as a baseless rumour,” he said.
