A KDF special forces unit is in a spot for allegedly forcing over 30 cargo drivers on Lamu-Garsen road to swim in mud and sewage for travelling at night.
The incidents took place separately over the weekend from last Friday to Sunday at Nyongoro corner, just a few metres from the Gamba police station at around 4.30am.
The unit is part of the larger KDF team and other multi-agency security units undertaking the security Operation Amani Boni which was launched by government in 2015 with a view to flush out al Shabaab terrorists hiding inside the Boni forest.
The victims described the incidents as humiliating and belittling considering they had not committed any crime.
It also comes just a week after Coast regional coordinator John Elungata partially lifted a night travel ban on the road thus allowing cargo drivers to ply the road at night.
Lamu county assembly driver Abdulrazak Abdulrahman was returning from Mombasa where he had dropped MCAs for an official engagement before he was flagged down by the officers at the Nyongoro corner at around 4.30am.
He noticed several other vehicles, mostly lorries and cargo vehicles, had been stopped in the area.
“We were directed to a muddy swamp nearby and asked to swim for about 30 minutes. They would whip us with clubs while we swam in the murky water,” Abdulrahman said.
He says they were then ordered to smear the mud on each other’s faces and bodies after which they were asked to board their vehicles and drive back to where they had come from, with a warning that they would experience similar treatment if caught moving around during ‘awkward’ hours.
His hand was injured from the beating he received.
“They didn’t tell us the crime we committed, they just asked us to get into our vehicles with all the mud and reverse back to where we had come from. It was very humiliating for fellow men to do that to us,” he said.
Another cargo driver Al-amin Nasai said he lost his spectacles during the ordeal while the soldiers made fun of the fact that he was struggling to see without them.
He said they had met the requisite requirements as directed by the security office shortly after the cargo transport ban was lifted.
“We didn’t commit any mistake but they humiliated us like we were small children and laughed at us while we rolled in the mud like they made us do. I have never been humiliated this much in my life. The soldiers were laughing and enjoying every moment,” Nasai said.
Said Mohamed, a cargo driver, said most of the soldiers appeared drunk and wouldn’t listen to any of them.
His hand was injured after he was hit with a club for disobeying the directive to swim in the mud.
“The swamps were full of mud, feaces and cow dung and other dirt but they made us swim in there. It’s obvious they were drunk from the stench of alcohol. We did not commit any wrong. They must be stopped,” Mohamed said.
Police at the Gamba police station fled briefly when the drivers made a stop at the station to report the incident after seeing them covered in mud.
“We narrated our ordeal which shocked them," he said.
The weekend incidents have elicited fear among cargo drivers using the road who now want the government to come clear on the state of night travel ban.
The KDF spokesperson Esther Wanjiku said she was not aware of the incident but promised to follow up.
“Allow me some time to investigate and revert. Meanwhile, we are fully committed to facilitate near free flow of traffic on our roads,” Macharia said.
Muhuri executive director Khelef Khalifa asked the government to stop treating the Lamu highway as a security zone.
“We are in contact with the drivers with a view to seek legal redress. This is deliberately the policy of the government to suppress the fundamental rights of the Lamu residents. This is oppressive and against human rights,” Khalifa said.
Lamu county commissioner Irungu Macharia also said he was not aware of the incidents and promised to investigate.
The incidents took place separately over the weekend from last Friday to Sunday at Nyongoro corner, just a few metres from the Gamba police station at around 4.30am.
The unit is part of the larger KDF team and other multi-agency security units undertaking the security Operation Amani Boni which was launched by government in 2015 with a view to flush out al Shabaab terrorists hiding inside the Boni forest.
The victims described the incidents as humiliating and belittling considering they had not committed any crime.
It also comes just a week after Coast regional coordinator John Elungata partially lifted a night travel ban on the road thus allowing cargo drivers to ply the road at night.
Lamu county assembly driver Abdulrazak Abdulrahman was returning from Mombasa where he had dropped MCAs for an official engagement before he was flagged down by the officers at the Nyongoro corner at around 4.30am.
He noticed several other vehicles, mostly lorries and cargo vehicles, had been stopped in the area.
“We were directed to a muddy swamp nearby and asked to swim for about 30 minutes. They would whip us with clubs while we swam in the murky water,” Abdulrahman said.
He says they were then ordered to smear the mud on each other’s faces and bodies after which they were asked to board their vehicles and drive back to where they had come from, with a warning that they would experience similar treatment if caught moving around during ‘awkward’ hours.
His hand was injured from the beating he received.
“They didn’t tell us the crime we committed, they just asked us to get into our vehicles with all the mud and reverse back to where we had come from. It was very humiliating for fellow men to do that to us,” he said.
Another cargo driver Al-amin Nasai said he lost his spectacles during the ordeal while the soldiers made fun of the fact that he was struggling to see without them.
He said they had met the requisite requirements as directed by the security office shortly after the cargo transport ban was lifted.
“We didn’t commit any mistake but they humiliated us like we were small children and laughed at us while we rolled in the mud like they made us do. I have never been humiliated this much in my life. The soldiers were laughing and enjoying every moment,” Nasai said.
Said Mohamed, a cargo driver, said most of the soldiers appeared drunk and wouldn’t listen to any of them.
His hand was injured after he was hit with a club for disobeying the directive to swim in the mud.
“The swamps were full of mud, feaces and cow dung and other dirt but they made us swim in there. It’s obvious they were drunk from the stench of alcohol. We did not commit any wrong. They must be stopped,” Mohamed said.
Police at the Gamba police station fled briefly when the drivers made a stop at the station to report the incident after seeing them covered in mud.
“We narrated our ordeal which shocked them," he said.
The weekend incidents have elicited fear among cargo drivers using the road who now want the government to come clear on the state of night travel ban.
The KDF spokesperson Esther Wanjiku said she was not aware of the incident but promised to follow up.
“Allow me some time to investigate and revert. Meanwhile, we are fully committed to facilitate near free flow of traffic on our roads,” Macharia said.
Muhuri executive director Khelef Khalifa asked the government to stop treating the Lamu highway as a security zone.
“We are in contact with the drivers with a view to seek legal redress. This is deliberately the policy of the government to suppress the fundamental rights of the Lamu residents. This is oppressive and against human rights,” Khalifa said.
Lamu county commissioner Irungu Macharia also said he was not aware of the incidents and promised to investigate.
