A matatu driver deliberately caused an accident which helped save passengers from a possible carjacking along the Nairobi-Nakuru Highway.
Scores of passengers were injured during the botched incident which happened along the busy highway.
Witnesses narrated how a group of four armed thugs in a Nissan matatu had tried to take over the vehicle near Raini in Naivasha when the driver swerved off the road and landed into a ditch.
In the process, the thugs managed to escape without robbing anyone though some of the passengers were injured and rushed to hospital.
[caption caption="Passengers inside a matatu"]
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The matatu was heading to Nakuru from Nairobi when the thugs tried to take control at around 8 pm.
A passenger told the media that one of the thugs who was seated near the driver ordered him to drive off the road but he resisted leading to a confrontation.
“The driver was very brave and resisted attempts by one the thugs to take control of the car and as a result, we ended up in a ditch,” the passenger identified as Jane stated.
Screams from the shaken passengers attracted members of the public forcing the thugs to flee under the cover of darkness.
“The thugs opened the doors and fled as members of the public came to our rescue with the injured rushed to a hospital,” she added.
Naivasha OCPD Samuel Waweru confirmed the incident noting that the thugs had boarded the vehicle in Nairobi before turning to their victims near Naivasha.
[caption caption="Matatu that entered into a ditch"]
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He called on matatu operators to intensify their security searches at the point of entry so as to address the emerging cases.
The carjacking incident comes in the wake of similar attacks on passengers which have resorted to the hijacking of vehicles and robbing people on board their valuables.
Although police have issued warnings to the gangs, no stiff action has been taken by the authorities to safeguard Kenyans whose main means of transport is by road.
