Lamu residents urge removal of police escorts, roadblocks

Locals, tourism stakeholders and activists want police escort vehicles for public service vehicles (PSVs) to and from Lamu stopped.

They are also urging the national government to remove the numerous roadblocks on the Lamu-Witu-Garsen road.

The escorts, they argue, create the bad image that Lamu is unsafe, which scares away tourists.

Lamu tourism stakeholder Ali Bunu, the owner of Lamu Sunsail Hotel, proposed that the national government intensify aerial surveillance and increase security patrols instead of having Land Cruisers full of armed police officers escorting large convoys of PSVs.

“When tourists out there see vehicles being escorted by heavily armed police officers, what comes to their minds is that Lamu is a war zone,” he said.

“I prefer these security escort vehicles be removed and normal patrols intensified. It is better to have a police or Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) helicopter patrolling in the air along the route.”

Activist Fatma Sharif said the escorts and roadblocks cause unnecessary delays for travellers.

She said the escorts made sense when Lamu had no tarmac road, a situation that helped terrorists to launch ambushes and kill passengers and security officers.

She noted that there had been improvements in security since the government completed the Lamu-Witu-Garsen road.

“The security department has been assuring us that the security of the region is stable. Now that we have the newly constructed and tarmacked road, I wonder why we still have vehicles being escorted by police. Roadblocks are still intact and this is delaying our travel plans. Let them be removed,” she said.

Khelef Khalifa, director of Muhuri, pleaded with Coast Regional Coordinator John Elungata and Lamu County Commissioner Irungu Macharia to explain why Lamu is being subjected to travel restrictions.

Mr Khalifa said PSVs in other regions of the country that have witnessed terrorist attacks, including Garissa, were not subjected to travel restrictions like Lamu.

“We don’t need escort vehicles or roadblocks in Lamu. Locals, tourists, all are complaining. Some tourists are even scared of visiting Lamu, thinking the region is still unsafe. This whole plan is only working to delay travellers and create unwarranted attention and frustrations and need to be changed,” he said.

Lamu Muslim cleric and elder Mohamed Abdulkadir lauded the security committee for ensuring Lamu attains peace and stability.

He said people can now live their lives and engage in development without worry compared to previous years.

But now that peace and calm has returned, he said, roadblocks set up at the peak of terror attacks should be removed.

“We support the efforts made by the government to ensure Lamu is safe. We have witnessed enough security patrols on the route in recent times. The region is safe. I don’t see the need for these roadblocks or escorts,” he said.

In response, Lamu County Police Commander Moses Murithi said the government had no plans to remove the roadblocks or police escorts on the Lamu-Witu-Garsen road.

The Lamu travel arrangements were set by the National Security Advisory Committee, he said.

“This is a national issue. We can’t solve it at the county or regional level. There are no plans to remove either the roadblocks or escorts any time soon,” he said.

The State introduced the PSV escorts and roadblocks in July, 2014 following a spate of Al-Shabaab attacks on passenger and security vehicles, leaving dozens of civilians and security officers dead.

All passenger vehicles are required to travel in one convoy, which is escorted by a vehicle of armed police officers.

There are at least four roadblocks between the Mokowe Depot in Lamu County and the Minjila Junction in Tana River County.

These checkpoints are guarded by both police and Kenya Defence Forces soldiers.

Normally, passengers alight with all their luggage for checks at some of the checkpoints before being allowed to proceed.