How police foiled Lamu bus attack

Details are emerging of how security forces repulsed suspected Al-Shabaab terrorists who had attacked a convoy of five buses in Lamu on Tuesday evening.

The officers were providing security for the buses when they were ambushed at Milihoi, about 10 kilometres past Mpeketoni. The convoy was heading to Lamu Island when gunshots rent the air, causing panic among the drivers and passengers.

“The policemen escorting the convoy ordered us to make an immediate U-turn to Mkunumbi trading centre, where we spent about an hour while waiting for more police to escort us,” said Mr Tawfiq Sayid, a passenger on one of the buses.

He said the police engaged the attackers for about 20 minutes.

This was a major victory for the security forces as they stopped the attackers before they could inflict any casualties, especially coming on the same day that 14 people were killed in an attack on a residential area in Mandera County near the Kenya-Somalia border.

The incident comes just a few weeks after an abortive Al-Shabaab attack on a Kenya Army camp in Lamu, where the soldiers killed 18 militants including British man Thomas Evans.

In June last year, Hindi and Mpeketoni were the scenes of a horrific slaughter of residents by Al-Shabaab. Last month, area residents marked the first anniversary of the attacks in which 76 people lost their lives.

A passenger on a TSS bus, Mr Abdulla Guracho, said the attackers had targeted the police escort vehicle but the officers responded with heavy gunfire.

MAKE U-TURN

“We heard a loud bang as we neared the police escort vehicle in front of us. Our police responded immediately. That’s when they ordered the drivers to make a U-turn. At that moment, I could hear gunshots in the bushes. I suspect Al-Shabaab had planned to ambush the convoy,” he said.

Another passenger, Mrs Hafswa Bwana, said some of the passengers had started to disembark to go hide in the bush, but the police stopped them.

She said it was quite difficult to tell where the gunshots were coming from but it was easy to guess when the police vehicle suddenly swerved and the officers began shooting into the bushes close to the road.

“We think they wanted to neutralise the police and hijack the convoy,” said Mrs Bwana.

However, Lamu County Police Commander Chrispus Mutali dismissed reports of the bus attack as “unreliable rumours”.

In a telephone interview with the Nation, Mr Mutali insisted that there was nothing like an Al-Shabaab attack.

He said the vehicles were directed to Mkunumbi after tension rose among the passengers. He did not explain what caused the tension.  

“Lamu is secured. 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.

People should be calm,” he said.

He also said police had increased patrols on the Lamu-Mombasa road to ensure safety of passengers and residents. Road blocks have also been increased near vulnerable locations on route.

After last year’s attack, the government directed that all vehicles using the Lamu-Mombasa road must be escorted by armed police.

However, due to the Tuesday incident at Milihoi, travellers and bus owners have asked for the number of police escort vehicles to be increased to at least one for every two passenger buses.

Speaking at the Tahmeed Bus Offices in Lamu, Mr Swaleh Athman, a passenger, asked the government to ensure 24-hour police patrol on major roads in Lamu.

“It’s clear that the militants won’t cease with their intentions. Apart from increasing the escort vehicles, patrols on the road must also be enhanced,” he said.

On July 19 last year, four policemen, two passengers and a driver died at Mambo Sasa in Witu after Al-Shabaab ambushed a Tahmeed Bus which was heading to Lamu from Mombasa.

And on December 20, they again attacked a Tawakal bus bound for Lamu at Lango La Simba area in Witu Division. No one was injured in that attack. There have been no attacks in the area this year.