Barnabas Bii And John Njagi
2 November 2008
Nairobi — Insecurity on the Trans-African highway, especially between Malaba and Nakuru, has reached alarming levels.
Gangsters have been erecting illegal road blocks especially at night targeting travellers. This has forced many people to restrict their travel to day time, thus denying travel companies the much needed business.
The attacks intensified soon after the post-election violence when highway robbers took advantage of the insecurity to harass passengers aboard buses at night.
Some police officers on duty lost their lives during this period as in the case of a bus that was attacked near Timboroa trading centre at night en route from Malaba to Nairobi.
Carjacked
Two officers who were escorting the bus were shot dead after six gangsters who were on board carjacked it. It is not the Trans-African highway alone that is prone to attacks.
Last month, highway robbers attacked a group of traders on the Kitale-Kapenguria highway in the morning and robbed them of their goods and over Sh120,000 cash, among other valuables.
These attacks have forced transport operators and police to launch thorough check-up in many termini. Police in Eldoret recently smashed a carjacking ring targeting buses travelling at night and arrested two people.
They also recovered police uniforms, berets and handcuffs and weapons used in carjacking incidents.
Eldoret police boss Kioko Muinde said the suspects are part of a gang that has been harassing motorists between Eldoret, Nakuru and Kericho and other areas.
In central Kenya, public service vehicle operators say they are losing business worth millions of shillings as they park their matatus early to escape attacks.
Armed carjackers have on several occasions terrorised commuters especially at night, stealing personal belongings and sometimes the vehicles.
Most gangsters pose as passengers on entry and attack as the journey progresses.
According to the chairman of the Nyeri Public Service Vehicles (PSV) owners association, Mr Patrick Mugwara, some of the vehicles stop operations as early as 8pm.
In the past, people would travel at night and the vehicles would be there, but since a wave of insecurity hit the area, PSV operators are safer parking their vehicles early than risk being attacked," he said.
Major highways from Nairobi to Thika, Nyeri and Nakuru had all become dangerous at night, he adds.
Mr Mugwara said the criminals had also devised ways of smuggling weapons into the vehicles despite the rigorous screening at departure.
Notorious
As a precautionary measure, PSV operators have resorted to driving into police stations after 5pm where the passengers are frisked and the vehicle thoroughly searched by police officers.
Recently, police have intensified highways patrols, but criminals seem determined not to retreat.
The notorious areas are the Thika-Karatina areas and the Nyeri-Ndaragwa road. Traders who travel early in the morning to Gikomba market are major targets of robbers.
According to a clothes trader, Ms Margaret Muthoni, the gangsters hide along the Nyeri-Nairobi highway and wait for vehicles ferrying them to Gikomba to buy stock.
However, Nyeri police commander Kirunya Limbitu said no formal complaints have been forwarded to his office.
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