A gang ambushed and killed a government driver before hijacking and fleeing with his official car in the Kamor area, Mandera County.
The driver was with his two relatives when he was attacked on Saturday, August 10, officials said.
The gunmen believed to be al Shabaab terrorists were armed with pistols when they carjacked a government Land Cruiser belonging to Deputy County Commissioner for Mandera East, Patrick Meso.
County Commissioner Henry Ochako said the attackers ambushed the driver at Kamor in Mandera town, killing him before fleeing with the vehicle in the 3 pm incident.
The attackers fled with the vehicle toward the Somalia border, leaving the body of the deceased at the scene.
A woman who was on board was spared and managed to jump out of the moving car. The deceased comes from the area.
There were scanty details on who else was on board the car at the time of the incident.
A major operation was immediately launched to recover the car and those on board.
Officials said efforts were being made to reach out to authorities in Somalia for a negotiation.
Mandera Deputy Director Enforcement and Head of the county installation Abdikadir Baricha said they had been made aware of an unfortunate event that occurred earlier today, involving the hijack of a land cruiser belonging to the County Commissioner in the Ali-bililiqa area of Kamor location.
“Regrettably, the driver lost his life during the incident, and the vehicle was later driven towards the Somalia border by unknown individuals suspected to be al Shabaab.”
“It is imperative that all county drivers prioritise safety protocols and restrict unnecessary parking of county vehicles in town or bulas. Please note that the current security situation in Mandera town is unpredictable. Our ministries and departmental heads need to advise the drivers under their command,” he said.
He urged the county drivers to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activities to the relevant authorities.
He advised that if one finds any suspicious items placed within county installations or surrounding areas to report for their safety before interfering with it.
This incident comes in the wake of several attacks suspected to be by al-Shabaab militants.
On Monday, August 5, multi-agency teams conducted several raids targeting al Shabaab positions in Mandera, Wajir and Garissa counties.
At the borders of Mandera and Wajir counties, an intelligence-led operation was conducted on suspected al Shabaab hideouts spread across Iresqinto, Kutayu and Boji areas.
Several items dug and hidden into the ground were retrieved, among them AK47 and PKM ammunition, medical equipment, drugs, and several jerricans filled with water.
In Garissa, a joint security team came into contact with about five suspected al Shabaab militants in Adan Santur.
The team was responding to distress calls from locals whose camels were being forcefully confiscated by the terrorists.
Two camels were recovered and returned to their owners, who expressed immense gratitude to the security forces for their quick response.
The militants, some of them injured, made a narrow escape and crossed the border into Somalia on a bullet-riddled white Toyota Probox vehicle.
On July 24, five people were injured in an explosion at an eatery in Mandera town.
On July 11, an ambush by suspected al Shabaab militants resulted in the deaths of five Special Operations Group (SOG) members and left six others injured near the Banisa/Derkale border in Mandera West.
Earlier, on April 5, six people were killed and five injured when an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated near the police station in Elwak town, Mandera County.
Another similar incident occurred on March 25, where four people were killed in an explosion at a hotel near a police station in Mandera town.
The area is near the Kenya-Somalia border, which is usually breached by terror groups who come and attack in the region and escape back.
More personnel have been deployed in the area in effort to tame the attacks.
Residents have always been urged to work with security agencies to tame the trend. This is because such attacks cannot happen without the knowledge of the locals.
This comes amid heightened security following fears the terror group could be planning an attack after a long lull. The border region has borne the brunt of repeated attacks from the militants who are at times aided by locals.
Somalia has not had a stable government after the fall of Siad Barre in 1991.
The terrorists have been planting explosives on the routes used by the security agencies. Kenyan troops are in Somalia to pursue and suppress the activities of the terror group. But the terrorists keep crossing to Kenya for attacks.