At 9am on Thursday, February 27, a Maralal-bound bus locally christened as 'Man City' departed from Baragoi town heading towards Maralal on the treacherous Baragoi-Maralal road.
On board were approximately 60 passengers, including women and children. Among them was Abdi Yusuf, the bus conductor, who had made this journey countless times before.
The Maralal-Baragoi road was unusually quiet that morning as passengers, who were mostly traders, commuters and a few students on midterm break, hoped for a smooth journey.
At around 10.30am, as the bus neared Mbukoi area, a rugged stretch flanked by dense bushes, a loud bang disrupted the journey.
Two killed as bandits ambush bus on Maralal-Baragoi road in Samburu
For a split second, Yusuf thought it was a tyre burst. But then another explosion followed, and another. Suddenly, a side window cracked as bullets tore through the vehicle.
“Passengers screamed as they dived to the floor of the bus, pressing against one another,” Abdi he recounted in an interview with Nation.Africa .
Before the driver could react, the rear tyres were deflated by the gunfire, forcing the bus to screech to a halt. The gunmen emerged from the bushes with rifles and continued to spray the bus with bullets.
“It was terrifying. The attackers fired and burst the tyres of the bus then fired indiscriminately. Everyone was screaming and ducking for safety,” said Yusuf who survived but sustained gunshot wounds on his left arm.
“The bus could not move anymore. The driver jumped to the back seats to take cover. He was targeted with multiple gunshots. I have never seen a horrific scene like that in my life.”
As Yusuf scrambled for cover, he says he felt a sharp pain rip through his side.
A bullet had grazed his left palm and torn through his fingers, and blood was seeping through his black T-shirt.
“The scene was one of desperation because everyone lay in a tight cluster. You can't do anything at that moment. I thought I was going to die for sure,” he said.
A police officer was escorting the bus from Baragoi but he was also injured during the attack. Two people died on the spot, while eight others sustained gunshot wounds.
The gunmen disappeared into the bush as suddenly as they had appeared, leaving the shaken survivors to tend to the injured.
“You can imagine being injured but still trying to help someone who is more critical than you,” Yusuf added.
Police and emergency responders arrived shortly after the attack and rushed the injured to Samburu County Referral Hospital in Maralal town. The bodies of the two passengers who died were taken to the hospital mortuary, awaiting post-mortem examination.
For Mr Yusuf, survival was a miracle.
“I saw death with my own eyes,” he said, his voice still trembling from the harrowing ordeal. Authorities later confirmed the attack and vowed to track down the attackers.
Samburu County Police Commander Thomas Ototo revealed that the bus was under police escort when it was attacked.
According to Mr Ototo, heavily armed attackers opened fire on the vehicle before fleeing into the surrounding bush.
“The bus was travelling to Maralal from Baragoi with a police escort when it was ambushed by unknown gunmen. Unfortunately, two passengers lost their lives on the spot, while three others, including our officer, sustained serious injuries,” Mr Ototo told Nation.Africa .
He added that the police had launched a manhunt for the assailants, with security forces combing the area.
The police boss assured residents that patrols would be intensified along the volatile Maralal-Baragoi road to prevent further incidents.
Last week’s attack is the fourth to be reported along the volatile road, which has witnessed recurrent banditry and ambushes in the past.
Leaders and residents have called on the government to enhance security and address the persistent threat posed by armed groups in the region.
Samburu North MP Eli Letipila blamed the government for failing to take decisive action against rising insecurity along the Maralal-Baragoi road.
He noted that four separate attacks have been reported along the road this year alone, resulting in several deaths.
“It is unacceptable that innocent civilians and even police officers continue to lose their lives due to lawlessness. It looks like we do not have any government presence here. The government must do more to protect the people of Samburu,” said Mr Letipila.
Just two weeks ago, a prison police officer was shot dead and eight remandees escaped after armed bandits ambushed a police vehicle transporting suspects to a mobile court in Baragoi.
The suspects had been charged with various offences including illegal possession of firearms, murder, robbery with violence and defilement.
In the ensuing gun battle, one policeman was shot dead while the heavily armed bandits overpowered the team, eventually allowing all eight suspects to escape.
The Maralal-Baragoi road has long been a hotspot for banditry and cattle rustling, with travellers and even security forces frequently ambushed.
The rugged terrain and vast, sparsely populated landscape make it difficult for law enforcement to maintain control.
