Umoinner crew saves city couple targeted for hijacking in Buruburu
A city couple survived being hijacked by a whisker on Tuesday night after matatu crew agreed to escort them to safety away from a gang of hijackers.
The couple’s ordeal started at City stadium roundabout, around 11.30pm, when they noticed a car trailing them as they drove along Jogoo road.
The gang in a Silver Bluebird Nissan kept adjusting speed to match that of the couple.
On reaching Rikana supermarket roundabout, the couple decided to accelerate, but to their surprise, the trailing motorist also upped his speed.
MATATU FUELING
On reaching the Jogoo road – Mumias road junction, at the Total petrol station, they saw an Umoinner matatu fueling. They quickly approached its driver for assistance to be escorted to the police station.
Umoinner matatus operate between Umoja and city centre via Jogoo Road, but sometimes detour through Buruburu via Mumias Road to evade heavy traffic.
The driver of the Umoinner matatu, who was on its last trip, agreed to escort the couple to Buruburu police station, but on condition that he first drops off passengers at Donholm stage.
The couple agreed to the terms.
Speaking to Nairobi News on Friday, the matatu driver Francis Wambua said they saw “this man who was driving a Prado approach them for their help”.
“The driver was talking to my tout, Swaleh. I went to inquire what was wrong and he explained to me what was happening. I told him to wait we finish fueling then we will escort them to the police station,” narrated Wambua.
‘GUARDIAN ANGELS’
In her narration of the incident, posted on her Facebook page, Njeri Mwangi said if it wasn’t for the crew they would probably be dead or hurt. She called the crew, “her guardian angels.”
According to Mr Wambua, when they reached Stellar stage along Outering road, the man rolled down his window and said they will proceed to the police station on their own since the car that was trailing them was nowhere to be seen.
“The man came on my side of the matatu and told me that the road was clear and they thought they were safe,” he added.
The crew of the Umoinner matatu registration KCK 135C, christened Billabong, said that they did what any other person will do if someone came to them for help.
Mr Wambua concluded: “I saw someone who was in trouble and was seeking our help and we decided to help because it can happen to anyone.”
