When the three buses left Mombasa for Lamu on Thursday morning, they were given police escort to make sure they were safe through the terror-prone Mboni forest. Unfortunately, when hell broke loose, the very people mandated to protect the passengers ran for their lives leaving the passengers under attack by the Al-shabaab militants.
According to Raymond Juma, one of the bus drivers, when the shooting began, the police officers made a u-turn and fled.
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The man who saved lives during the Al-shabaab attack in Lamu
Juma did what he could to save the lives of his passengers and managed to save around 30 of them by speeding off even after the tyres had been deflated.
According to reports, Juma was able to go up to around 100 metres under gunfire which gave the passengers an opportunity to escape.
Three dead and injured
Although most of the passengers escaped, three died during the attack and two were injured. The militants are said to have ordered the passengers who didn't have identity cards but claimed to be Muslims to recite the Shahada before taking action.