Two people are nursing serious gunshot injuries after they were shot at by armed thugs who carjacked a 14-seater passenger matatu they were travelling in in Kibwezi, Makueni county, early Monday.
Kambu deputy county commissioner Teresia Mburu said the injured included a woman and a man.
Mburu said the incident occurred along the busy Nairobi - Mombasa highway in Kalulu area near Machinery market at about 5.30 am.
"The hijackers took control of the motor vehicle, robbed its passengers and shot the two people before dumping it at Ngwata near the SGR bridge before fleeing the scene," Mburu said.
She said the passenger matatu was headed to Makindu from Kambu when the incident happened.
"When it reached the Kalulu area, one of the thugs who was seated near the driver threatened him with a gun and forced him to get out of the matatu before they started robbing passengers," Mburu said.
The administrator said the injured duo were rushed to Makindu Level Four hospital, where they are receiving treatment following the gunshots.
She said the injured woman was well known to the locals. She is a businesswoman at Kambu shopping centre.
Mburu said the attackers were among the passengers who were aboard the matatu. They had disguised themselves as passengers headed to Makindu.
She said the passengers, the majority of whom were headed to Makindu, alighted the motor vehicle after they were robbed, the matatu was dumped, and the attackers fled.
The attackers were reportedly still at large by press time.
Police have launched investigations into the incident.
Several incidents of carjacking have been reported along the highway, especially in Kambu area, the same Makindu in Makueni county.
A taxi driver was allegedly lured to the area last Friday by a man who disguised himself as a passenger and was killed.
The man who operates a taxi business in Athi River town, Machakos county is said to have been called on the phone to pick a client in Kambu but never returned.
He was later found dead. An incident which is under police investigation.
On May 6, a driver transporting a Subaru Impreza from Mombasa to Kampala fell into a treacherous trap near Mutomo area in Mtito Andei.
This was after a motorcycle ferrying two pillion passengers emerged from a thicket onto the highway and blocked the driver’s path.
The suspects feigned a need for assistance, claiming they were helping one of the pillion passengers who pretended to be a disabled person on crutches.
When the driver stopped to lend a hand, the situation quickly escalated.
One of the assailants brandished a firearm, threatening the driver and attempting to hijack the vehicle.
In the chaotic struggle that ensued, the gang forced their way into the car and assaulted the driver in a desperate attempt to seize control.
However, as fate would have it, the firearm discharged during the scuffle, inadvertently fatally wounding the very suspect who had pretended to be disabled.
The remaining assailants quickly fled the scene on their motorcycle, leaving behind the injured driver and the body of their fallen accomplice.
Police officers promptly responded to the incident.
The driver was rushed to Kambu Hospital, where he was treated and later discharged.
The body of the deceased suspect was taken to Kambu Hospital Mortuary.
