Two unidentified Cuban doctors fled from their designated work stations in Lamu during the weekend following the recent abduction of their countrymen and colleagues in Mandera.
Speaking to the Daily Nation, Lamu health executive, Anne Gathoni, affirmed that the two doctors left unexpectedly, adding that they were most likely facing trauma over the Mandera kidnapping.
"It's true. The two Cuban doctors traveled out of Lamu abruptly over the weekend,” Ms Gathoni divulged to the Nation on Monday.
It is believed that the fact that Lamu is located so close to the Kenya-Somalia border was the main reason behind their sudden exit.
Al Shabaab militants have been known to make numerous forays into Lamu county by using Boni forest as cover as well as training grounds for new recruits.
Meanwhile, the government successfully evacuated all the Cuban health workers stationed in Wajir and Garissa counties.
Garissa police boss, Aaron Morasae, affirmed that the all the Cuban medics previously stationed in his county left for Nairobi over the weekend.
“We received orders from our seniors on Friday evening to arrange for their transport back to Nairobi and on Saturday morning they left,” he disclosed.
The rapid evacuation of the Cubans was hinged on the fact that their nationality made them high-value targets for the Al Shabaab militia.
Elders from Mandera reportedly left for Somalia last Friday in a bid to hold negotiations with their counterparts regarding the release of the two doctors - Dr Landy Rodriguez (a surgeon) and Dr Assel Herera Correa (a general physician) - who were abducted by armed suspected Al Shabaab militants on April 12, 2019.
