Passengers robbed at gunpoint along Jogoo road during heavy traffic
Passengers aboard a Double M minibus were in Thursday at gunpoint along
Jogoo road while stuck in the Morning traffic jam. According to reports, this
is not the first incident to happen along that route. During the 6am incident on Thursday, a gang of
six smartly dressed men, who posed as passengers, whisked out guns and
ordered other passengers to surrender their phones and money.
One victim who narrated his ordeal to Nairobi News, recounted how
he had boarded the minibus at Bee Centre near Donholm.
Strangely, when they had reached the Donholm stage, he said, the
conductor had asked the driver to drive off with a half-filled bus claiming
that there are traffic police officers in the area.
“There were
six smartly dressed men who boarded the bus at Donholm along with other
commuters at Donholm. They evenly spread themselves to have one at the back,
two in the middle and two others at the front,” recalled the commuter.
Moments
after the six had boarded the minibus, the conductor reportedly told the driver
to drive-off while he quickly alighted from the bus.
Shortly
after, the six men stood up at once, and the one seated near the door ordered
all commuters to surrender their phones and money.
“He together
with the other man who was seated at the front next to the driver withdrew guns
and threatened to shoot anyone who would not follow their orders,” he
recounted.
The other
gang members who were in the middle and back ransacked the entire bus, ordering
commuters to handover their phones and wallets.
All this was
happening as the bus moved slowly along the morning traffic. Passengers in
other vehicles seemingly did not notice anything amiss.
The robbers
took their time to go through wallets and purses of their victims, throwing the
empty ones back to their owners, while they stuffed others in paper bags and
rack sacks.
PUNCH
LEFT JAW
“I had
managed to save my phone by dropping it on the floor of the bus and stepping on
it. However as the robbers were looking for any items dropped, one of them saw
my phone and he gave me a punch on my left jaw as he ordered me to hand it
over,” said the commuter.
At some
point during the robbery, the conductor of another bus came to ask for loose
change.
But just as
he noticed the strange activities inside the bus, one of the robbers who was at
the door told him to handover the cash he had and ordered him to sit on the
aisle, telling him that his vehicle was to be robbed next.
At around
6:20am, the six robbers along with the conductor of the other vehicle alighted
near Makongeni police station. They mocked their victims, telling them to pray
for them and make sure they report the incident to the police.
The driver
of the bus drove to the Makongeni police station and reported the incident.
CONDUCTOR
NOWHERE
Throughout
the incident, the conductor of the bus was nowhere to be seen.
On arriving
at Kencom bus terminal in the city centre, one of the commuters noticed that
the driver had not notified officials of the bus company about the incident.
It was only
after the officials had enquired from the driver that he narrated the whole
incident.
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