Buses plying terror-prone routes in North Eastern have been directed to ensure they have police escorts to protect their passengers.
Regional coordinator Mohamed Birik said drivers who will fail to comply with the directive will be arrested for contempt of the law and putting passengers’ lives at risk.
Speaking in Garissa town, Birik said buses that will use the Garissa-Holugho, Garissa-Liboi and Garissa-Wajir roads and other routes that lead to Mandera should ensure they have an armed security escort.
Birik said the directive had been issued earlier but bus operators have in the past ignored it saying that they will now ensure the operators comply with it.
He said security officers from Garissa, Mandera and Wajir counties are under strict instructions to ensure the directive is enforced.
“We don’t want to take chances with the lives of Kenyans. It is unfortunate that this directive has all along been there but bus operators seem to have ignored it. This time round, we won't allow anyone to get scot-free,” said Birik.
The directive comes barely two weeks when suspected Al-Shabaab militants attacked a Mandera-bound bus between Kutulo and Wargadud area in Wajir County and killed eight police officers, two teachers and a doctor who were non-locals.