This archive report was first published on 4 January 2020.
On December 2, 2020, a group of Lamu-bound buses were ambushed, leaving several people dead and injured. According to Raymond Juma Kahindi, a driver of the Mombasa Raha bus, the police escort team assigned to their bus could not be reached when they needed help.
Kahindi recounted the events of that fateful day, stating that he had overtaken two other buses before being attacked. When he reached the Gamba Police Station to pick up his escort team, he found only one officer waiting for him, and he was allowed to proceed.
After overtaking the other buses, Kahindi met a matatu parked on the roadside but did not stop to inquire what was going on. He continued driving until he heard three gunshots in the air, and then the attackers shot at the wheels of his bus. Despite being shot at, Kahindi managed to drive off with the rims before finally stopping.
When he stopped, Kahindi asked his passengers to get off and run for their lives. He told them he would be the last one to get out. At this point, he tried to call the escort team to inform them of the situation, but their phone was busy.
Kahindi waited for the other buses behind him and eventually stopped the Simba Coach bus. He inquired if they had also been attacked, and they told him that their vehicle had been attacked, with the loader and two passengers shot dead and others injured. Kahindi then boarded the bus to the next police station, where he was assigned General Service Unit officers who escorted him to where he had left the bus.
