Bandits kill two lorry drivers at notorious spot

By Ali Abdi

Marsabit, Kenya: Two truck drivers were shot dead by bandits at Laisamis in Marsabit County.

The raiders ambushed the transit goods truck drivers at a notorious bandits spot between Laisamis and Merille and shot them dead on Friday at around 8pm.

The drivers had dropped road construction material at Turbi a day earlier and were heading back to Nairobi.

The goods belonged to China Jiangsu, the firm constructing the third phase of the Isiolo-Moyale road between Marsabit town and Turbi trading centre.

Yesterday, Marsabit County Commissioner Isaiah Nakoru confirmed the incident saying the bandits, who are suspected to be from Laisamis, were being pursued by security personnel.

Peace Meeting

‘‘We know where they fled to and will get them,’’ said Mr Nakoru on phone from Moyale, where he is spearheading a peace meeting following last week’s confrontation between the locals and the police.

He added: ‘‘We will ensure that they are apprehended and dealt with accordingly. We are not going to allow bandits to disrupt the construction of the road.”

The official called on local leaders to help stop the highway attacks, saying the trend has stagnated development efforts in the region.

In the Friday night attack, the body of one of the drivers was found inside the vehicle while his co-driver’s lay in a nearby thicket with multiple gunshot wounds.

Police believe the co-driver was trying to flee when he was shot dead as the passenger door was open.

Nakoru said the truck was empty as the consignment of cements and steel bars had been off-loaded at Turbi.

The bandits usually stop vehicles at gun point to steal from passengers and mainly target long-haul trucks ferrying livestock.

‘‘The probability was that the bandits believed the lorry was carrying livestock and the driver defied orders to stop,’’ the administrator suggested.

Works Halted

Sources in Marsabit indicated that the firm had stopped work on the road yesterday and is set to meet security team from the county today to seek assurance of safety of its workers and transporters supplying the construction materials.

In 2010, China Wu Yi, the Chinese company contracted to tarmac the first phase of the road between Isiolo and Merille suspended work for a month in protest after a Chinese engineer was killed by bandits at Sereolipi in Samburu East.