Over 300 passengers from Nairobi and Mombasa were detained at a police roadblock at Gamba for more than seven hours delaying their journey to Lamu County.
The five buses and several matatu shuttles, on Friday, March 5, were denied access past the roadblock as police claimed that they did not have enough officers to provide escorts. The route is prone to Al-Shabaab attacks who ambush convoys hence the need to have a police escort.
Commuters lamented that they arrived at the roadblock around midday and were kept up late into the night before being asked to travel to Tana River County for a night's rest.
"The commuters arrived late at the police roadblock. At that time, police officers were already escorting other buses to Lamu," Lamu County Commissioner Irungu Macharia said, defending the officers.
He added that the commuters nearly deserted the buses to walk on foot from Gamba to Lamu, over 40 kilometres away.
Two or three three police vehicles usually escort one bus or shuttle to provide safety to commuters who ply the route.
In January 2020, President Uhuru Kenyatta unveiled a comprehensive strategy to deal with Al-Shabaab and militant groups at the Coast and the whole country.
The new structure entailed multi-agency coordination, advanced training and equipment upgrades, community involvement and incentives for security officers. The National Intelligence Service (NIS) was also ordered to investigate terror financiers funding militia groups.
Kenyatta further ordered security agencies to flush out bandits and militants in the North-Eastern region and affected areas at the Coast. The military's budget was also increased to allow it to purchase sophisticated weapons and enhance training activities.
“Doing this will allow citizens to be more resilient against radicalisation and terrorist propaganda. The people of Kenya should be rest assured that we will respond robustly and that our nation Kenyan will and shall prevail," Kenyatta said.
