El Maawy at a previous event/COURTESY
NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 13 – Public Works Principal Secretary Miriam El Maawy has been rescued by Kenya Defence Forces and GSU commandos after being hijacked by suspected Al Shabaab militants in Lamu.
A senior government official who confirmed the rescue did not provide further details, only saying more information would be issued by the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of Government after the requiem mass for the late Joseph Nkaissery.
He was also not in a position to explain the whereabouts of five other people who were hijacked with El Maawy.
The six were taken hostage by the militants after they commandeered their vehicle at Milihoi area on the Lamu-Mpeketoni highway.
The Public Works PS had just completed a meeting with Lamu Port Southern Sudan-Ethiopia Transport Corridor (LAPSSET) stakeholders in Lamu and was heading to Witu to visit families who fled their homes due to insecurity caused Al Shabaab attacks.
Two other vehicles that had initially been held were released while the PS’s vehicle was driven into the Boni forest by the militants who amounted to more than 30 according to witnesses.
The incident took place on Thursday at around 3pm.
In a similar incident, a lorry conductor was taken hostage by suspected Al Shabaab militants at Milihoi.
They were numbering more than 20 according to the lorry driver who said the militants took him inside Boni Forest and then allowed him to proceed with his journey.
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