Mandera Massacre (2): Having failed to hike a free ride on the Air Force plane to Mandera I decided to tough it out via the road. This involved arriving at the Garissa Express bus offices in Eastleigh at around 6 am. By 6.30 we hit the road and it was a motley crew of passengers. On average a seat would consist of nervous first timers like myself; a mother with a large family who would gladly donate one of the kids for you to carry all the way; a miraa trader on a follow up trip as he samples his product; a sheikh religiously clutching his prayer beads. At Ukasi, all vehicles heading to Garissa would stop and wait for police escort which used to happen only once a day, so if you miss the convoy you had to wait till the next day. It was a sight to behold as 50 to 100 vehicles snaked their way on the lonely road. Leading the pack was a gun mounted Land Rover with a cop manning the machine gun (He looked like Rambos younger brother I swear). When it came to a stop for a call of nature all the cops would rush forward to the bushes, cover the whole terrain and then in the spirit of camaraderie that only harsh conditions can provide we communally did our thing. The journey ended late afternoon when the convoy triumphantly entered Garissa town amidst shouts and horns.....
Posted on: Fri, 28 Nov 2014 08:52:15 +0000
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