Hundreds of travellers were stranded in Garissa Town Wednesday after bus companies suspended transport services between Garissa and Nairobi.
Operators told the Nation that they’ve halted services on the Mwingi-Garissa road route following attacks and growing tensions between pastoralists and farmers that recently ended in a bandit attack that killed seven people in Kitui County. Anger following the attack has led to protests by youths in Kitui as they demanded justice for those killed.
Bus operators say they will only resume services on Mwingi-Garissa road once their security concerns are addressed after some of their vehicles plying the route were targeted and damaged during protests on Tuesday.
The decision by the firms caught hundreds of travellers by surprise, forcing them to postpone their planned journeys.
“I was shocked when I came here only to be informed that no bus is leaving for Nairobi. I had planned to be in the city by afternoon to travel to Naivasha for a work-related event,” Mr Hassan Gure, a resident of Garissa, said.
Ms Habiba Mohamed, who had also planned a trip to Nairobi, said: “I was going to see my children off to school this afternoon. I’m surprised that public transport was suspended,” she said.
Another traveller, Mr Charles Kariuki, said the suspension left him at a loss due to his poor health.
“I was scheduled to see a specialist in Nairobi…I’m stuck here.”
Attack by herders
More than five bus companies say they’ve halted their business citing sustained attacks on their vehicles by Kitui residents protesting the killing of their loved ones by pastoralists.
Over the weekend, suspected bandits stormed Kwa Kamari Township in Kitui killing seven people, and setting shops, motorcycles and a petrol station on fire before escaping.
On Tuesday, the situation escalated after reports of a violent incident in Ukasi Ward, Kitui County, which saw a 14-year-old student from Kathungu Primary School attacked and killed with a machete.
Thereafter, residents of Ukasi and Nguni in Kitui took to the streets, blocking the main Nairobi-Garissa Road and stoning buses.
“We were forced to seek refuge at Nguni police station after we encountered hostile crowds on our way to Garissa on Tuesday afternoon,” Mr Ali Adan, a resident of Garissa who was in one of the buses, said.
With shuttered window panes, buses were driven to either Ukasi or Nguni police stations.
To reach Garissa on Tuesday, police provided armed escort to all buses that were stranded in Kitui.
“We are suffering damage on our buses due to attacks by youths along this road…we’ll resume when calm returns,” an employee of Rayan bus company, who did not want to be named, said.
When reached on phone, Mr Bonface Kavoo, Kitui East Sub-County Police commander, said the situation is now under control.
“We had protests in Mwingi Town, Mwania, Nguni and Ukasi…but we have cleared the situation and the road is passable,” he said while assuring road users of their safety.
Between Nairobi and Garissa, five bus companies make at least 25 trips daily.
