Disturbing Details Emerge on the Abduction of Uhuru's Secretary

mary kulundu

July 14, 2017 9:40 AM

Three were brutally killed

Public Works Principal Secretary Mariam El-Maawy was on Thursday afternoon abducted by the militia group Al Shabaab for almost 45 minutes sending panic throughout the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF).

New details now indicate that El-Maawy was shot in her left shoulder during the terrorist attack. The PS was also left with burns on her leg.

The attack happened in Milihoi, on the Mpeketoni-Lamu road as the PS was heading to Witu to visit families evicted due to the ongoing fighting between security agencies and Al Shabaab militants.

Ms El-Maawy was taking food to the displaced persons packed in a lorry that was part of her entourage.

"She had a very fruitful meeting with Lapsset officials and left for Witu to visit internally displaced people," the director general of the Lamu Port-Southern Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (Lapsset) Corridor, Silvester Kasuku said.

The armed Al-Shabaab brutally killed security officer attached to Ms El-Maawy and two civilians in a lorry that was also hijacked.

A police source was quoted by a local daily stating that: "One militant was dressed as a woman and was using the truck driver as a shield. When the PS’s vehicle (Prado) slowed down because of the bad roads, they forced the driver to stop and ordered him to move to the back seat”.

A police officer who spoke on condition of anonymity disclosed that the PS' vehicle was torched with a person inside when the terrorist forced them into Boni Forest.

KDF soldiers were prompt to track the suspected the terrorists and rescued the PS.

“A KDF platoon, both ground and air, responded to the incident swiftly. Immediately, a helicopter was dispatched to the area and officers were able to trace the Prado, which was hidden under a tree," KDF spokesman Col Joseph Owuoth divulged

Col Owuoth added: "On realising that the vehicle they had hijacked was being followed, the driver of the vehicle sped off and unfortunately, it rolled and caught fire a few kilometres away".

mary kulundu