Commuters on the Lamu-Witu-Garsen route have expressed optimism that the ongoing roadside bush-clearing exercise being undertaken by the state will greatly boost security on the route.
The government, through the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA), has been undertaking bush clearing starting from Gamba on the border of Lamu and Tana River Counties to the Mokowe Jetty in Lamu.
Acting Lamu County Commissioner, Charles Kitheka said the exercise was being done purely for security reasons and to enable security forces to fully secure the 135-kilometre-long road.
He said all the bushy areas which have been previously perceived as terror hotspots along the route have been given first priority.
These include areas like Milihoi, Mambo Sasa, Witu Forest, Nyongoro, and Lango la Simba.
For years now, al Shabaab militants have taken advantage of the bushy areas along these hotspots from where they have been hiding and attacking security and passenger vehicles on the road.
For the longest time, these areas have been characterized majorly by poor road and mobile networks which seemed to work to the enemy’s advantage with hundreds of security officers and civilians perishing in separate incidents between 2014 and 2018.
The most famous death was that of former Public Works Permanent Secretary Mariam El Maawy, her niece and four bodyguards who were attacked by militants in the Milihoi area on July 13, 2017, all others lost their lives on the spot except the PS who succumbed to her injuries at a South African hospital
Many other incidents would follow over the years with the latest being that of December 28, 2022, where two people were killed after al Shabaab militants clad in KDF regalia laid ambush on passenger vehicles at Mambo Sasa Forest along the road.
Others were rescued by security forces during the incident.
“The exercise is by the government in partnership with KeNHA and will majorly enable for improved visibility which will enable one to spot the enemy from far off. Also, this will reduce accidents and collisions as drivers can easily spot each other from both sides of the road,” said Kitheka.
The spokesperson of the Lamu Public Service Vehicles-PSV Mohamed Omar said the exercise has restored the confidence of road commuters and road users.
“The visibility in the areas that have been cleared is good, the bush is gone and it’s easier to spot anything within and around," he said.
The commuters also want the government to lift the night travel ban which has been in existence since 2014 following a spate of terror attacks on the road.
