Kenyan Female Truck Driver Abducted in DRC Narrates Surviving 150 Days

DRC abductee
A collage of Florence Wanza Munyao and a military group in DRC
Photo
Human Rights Watch

A female truck driver from Kenya has narrated a harrowing ordeal she went through at the hands of a military group in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The driver, who recently reunited with her family in Itunduimuni Village, Machakos County, believes it is by sheer miracle that she is back in Kenya after facing physical assault. 

Fighting between rebels from the Rwanda-backed M23 and the DR Congo army has intensified since the start of the year, with foreign nationals often finding themselves on the firing line. 

Among them is Florence Wanza Munyao, who was kidnapped by a military group, lived in captivity for almost five months.

Wanza Munyao
Wanza Munyao, who spent more than five months wth a DRC military group
Photo
NTV

Between brushes with death and consistently being threatened with her life, Munyao admitted she is also lost for words at how she was able to secure a safe return to Kenya.

According to the experienced truck driver, she first came into contact with the military group when her truck got stuck in unfavourable terrain.

"One of the soldiers called me over and started assaulting me. Others proceeded to the truck to ransack it," she narrated. "We ended up walking for six hours because I was captured around 2:30 pm and we arrived at our destination in the evening.

Munyao further recalled hearing gunshots during the long trek to the military group's camp, but was warned against looking back.

She also narrated how her captors called her bosses in Kenya demanding a ransom of KSh 1.2 million (USD10,000), threatening to end her life if the money was not sent in the coming days.

Her living conditions with the military group was the stuff of nightmares, as she recalls living in squalor, taking one or two baths a week.

"One day they called me and took me to their superiors. They told me they had forgiven me since they had established I am a driver," she went on, adding that the update came after two months in captivity. 

After this update, Munyao unfortunately stayed at the military group's camp for two more months before embarking on another 10-day trek to the group's camp.

At one point, the brave truck driver recalls being at one of the camps where she witnessed the latest battle which saw the M23 rebels kill a military governor as they advanced through eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Friday, January 24.  This was an unfortunate turn of events for her as the governor was supposed to facilitate her move away from the war-stricken nation. 

Ultimately, the governor's brother facilitated her trip to the DRC- Rwandan border on January 30. Her commute saw her take a bus from Rwanda to Kampala, before boarding another vehicle to Busia.  "From Busia, a friend gave me a ride to Kisumu, where I took another bus to Nairobi," she added.

Munyao counts herself lucky to be alive, as she claims some of the female soldiers were adamant they typically do not keep strangers alive for as long as she was held.

"One of the soldiers informed me that another male foreigner was captured and had already been butchered. They were wondering how I was kept alive for this long.

Unlike Munyao, other truck drivers have not been so lucky, with reports suggesting they are stuck in Goma town, where rebel militia M23 have taken control of the mineral-rich Eastern Congo regions.

Some truck drivers stuck in the war-stricken region were transporting transit goods from Mombasa port. While 16 drivers have been evacuated to Rwanda in the rescue mission led by UN security troops in Goma, three remain unaccounted for. 
 

DRC troops
Troops in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Photo
Al Jazeera
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