A six-year-old Kenyan boy was found abandoned in a forest in Somalia hours after gunmen had hijacked a vehicle he was in on Saturday evening in Mandera East, Mandera County.
The boy was reunited with his family on Sunday after villagers found him wandering in the area crying for help.
Police said the villagers found him about 20 kilometres inside Somalia and led him back to the Kenyan border where they handed him to the authorities.
This was hours after al Shabaab ambushed and killed a government driver before hijacking and fleeing with his official car in the Kamor area.
The driver was with his two relatives including the boy when he was attacked on Saturday, August 10, officials said.
The boy’s mother is said to have jumped out of the car as the gang took control and moments after they had killed her brother.
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.
The deceased comes from the area.
A major operation was immediately launched to recover the car in vain.
Officials said efforts were being made to reach out to authorities in Somalia for a negotiation.
Other reports indicated one of the attackers could be a local who had joined the terror group.
Mandera Deputy Director of Enforcement and Head of County Installation Abdikadir Baricha said the incident happened in the Ali-bililiqa area of the 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 prioritize 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 where 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 the 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 County, 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.
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.