Bandit attack on the road Isiolo - Marsabit - Moyale in Kenya
 

We are french travellers and we were heading north from Samburu to Marsabit last Wednesday 25th of May.
Few kilometers after the end of tarmac, we've been attacked by several armed people (at least 3) that were very excited and we didn't manage to arrange the situation trying to give them our money
As the situation got worse very fast we decided to go on and they shot us and the car : my friend had received a bullet in the mouth and his jaw has been broken.
Fortunately, with lot of chance we managed to reach a safe place where they could take care of my friend. Other vehicles after us have been attacked as well.
Today, 3 days after, we are in Nairobi Hospital and my friend has been operated and thanks to our "bonne étoile - good star" as we say in french, everything shoulg going well now
So, If you have to take this road, you should ask an escort at the police station of Marsabit or Isiolo and/or organize a convoy.
Have safe travel !
David and Nadine

Thanks for the info and sorry to hear about the gunshot wound. I am in Khartoum and heading that way soon. I will try and convoy. Cheers.

going south from moyale to isiolo
 

Thanks for this info - hope you are all feeling better now.

We're also hoping to travel this road south in a month or so. If anyone is doing the same around July 20th, let's try to convoy...

Good luck,

Emma

North from Samburu
 

Hope all is well - anyone else had problems here recently?
Anyone going north around second week july?

N kenya convoy
 

Hi my name is Humphrey me and my friend are both on bikes and planning cross aswan on the 4th of july, then down to khartoum and then over the matema crossing into ethiopia etc. we were wondering what your schedule was since we'll be travelling throuhg N.Kenya after Ethiopia

Hi Emma, me and my friends Jim are motorbiking down Northern Kenya, we will be a few days to a week behind you unfortunately but were wondering if you had any info on traffic at the border etc. so as to the likelyhood of another convoy.

Moyale overland traffic
 

Hi Humphrey and Jim,

Sorry that we'll miss you! We know of at least one couple (David & Tisha of big orange bedford fame: Big Orange Bedford - UK to Cape town, South Africa - The Idea is Born) who are a week or two behind us. Otherwise, haven't seen anyone else going South yet.

Once we get to the border, will try to post about how many people we see, if wifi permits!

Good luck!

Emma

How helpful is the police with agreeing with an escort?

Are there ways around it?

Does the threat get less as you get further from the edges of the tarmac bit of the road and further into the dirt section?

Convoy / Escorts North
 

Hi tmotten,
This part of Kenya has always been a bit lawless and bandits have been reported all over the area, we had some problems there in the '70s and some German people were shot in the back of a bus.
We have just arrived in Nairobi, heading north, and have spoken to a few people. It seems convoys were the norm until recently when they ceased due to things quietening down. The alternative route is via Lake Turkana but this is further although the road is supposedly slightly better. However whilst there are less frequent bandit problems here too the road is much more remote so if something does go wrong it might be a long time before anyone else arrives.
We were also told that it's easy to set up a convoy when in Marsibit and the police will apparently travel in your truck for a fee.

We plan to visit the police etc to assess the situation on Monday so will let you know (if we can get internet contact).
Incidentally for anyone planning to travell this route it is no longer possible to get Ethiopian visas here in Nairobi. People are having to send their passports back to their home countries to get them.
Cheers, Terry & Jean.

Hi Terry.

I was aware of the threat of this road, but as you said thought it was relatively quiet for a long time now. It seems that it's back to it now. Wonder if this is related to the dire drought situation that causing people displacement throughout the larger area.

I'm planning to cross that way in 2 years on motorbikes. A while yet I know but keeping my eye out. I can't remember reading many issues on blogs and things. Althought I don't really look for it, when I do hear of a trip underway I try to keep an eye on it.

Hi tmotten,

It's quite hard to evaluate the threaten and of course you can have big risk and nothing happen and the opposite aswell. All that I can say is that we were attacked, few kilometers after the end of the tarmac and I think it's not a coincidence : the track was very corrugated and plenty of gravel so we could not go very fast : even 50km/h was difficult.

Before this event, I was thinking the problem shoud begin far after Marsabit, closer of the ethiopian border or the Turkana Lake , so we had planned to camp in official places in cities and no bushcamp ! But we did not reach this part. When we were at the hospital, we read the national diaries and we heard about several raids attacks from foreigners about villages with quite a lot of dead people and it seems that insecurity around that border is a sensible subject between Kenya and Ethiopia, but in that cases it looks to be in remote areas, not near main roads.

When we left Isiolo, there was a poclice checkpoint and they did not tell us nothing special even if they saw that we were tourist travelling alone on that road.

Listening local people, if we had to do it again, I think we would stop at the police station in each cities and asked for information about the situation and may be escort if it is needed and I imagine they will supply escort may be expecting some money in exchange.
In the other hand, we travelled several times in other places at least so risky as the North of Kenya and I am not sure I would have applied these advices before we had this event and dont know either for the next travels : only sure for this area now !

Thanks all of you for your messages of sympathy, my friend is recovering well even if he is still with yogurt, soup and puree diet ! We hope to go back to Kenya at the end of the year but not sure we will be ready for the north Kenya !

That is a real pity, sorry to hear. Must have been quite a scary experience. You must have reported the matter to the police but we did not hear anything in the press here in kenya.

David & Nadine,

very sorry to hear about your troubles - I hope that your friend recovers and that this has not put you off travel.
Would it be possible to share with us all the details of what happened so that we can all learn from your unfortunate incident?
If anyone else has had problems in this area - what happened exactly - what should we look out for?

To start: The guy I bought our truck from had a problem here some years ago - a local-looking truck was broken down and some guys tried waving them down - they were suspicious so drove past in what space there was as quickly as possible - turned out to have been the right thing to do as the guys jumped into a hidden pickup and chased them, shooting, to the next town. After that they armed themselves - not sure this was the right thing to have done - but everyone makes their own choices.

Ian

Hi,
Few news to say that my friend David has just finished his smooth diet and can now be again a meat eater !
To answer to sonnymotox, I imagine we didn't have the headlines for this incident but in the newspaper we had at the hospital, we found an article very strange because a lot of wrong things in feaw lines ! You can read it here : 20110527 | French Tourist Shot at Laisamis 20110525

Frenchian, I can try to explain in more (and true) details what happened but my english is not very good so you have to be indulgent !
Nadine

Nadine,

that's good news of David - best wihes to him for his recovery.

I lived and worked in France for 20 years - if you PM me the information in French, I'll translate it and post it here in English for the benefit of everyone else if you are happy with that?

Ian

As promised –feedback on our investigations in Nairobi re the route north.
We are pleased to hear that David is recovering well and hope that you can resume your travels soon.

In Nairobi we spoke to the safety section of the Department of Tourism who referred us to the Tourist police who were sympathetic and aware of the incident .They advised us to go to Isiolo and talk to the tourist police there who would organise a convoy and/or armed escort if they thought it necessary at no cost to us.

We met another 4x4 and 2 motor cyclists at Jungle Junction who were planning to travel in convoy up the Lake Turkana route. We also met another group who had travelled from Ethiopia on the same route, they had been stopped 3 times by ‘bandits’ who only asked for water—they dealt with this by being confident and friendly and had no problems.
There are no customs or immigration on the Kenyan side of the border, so we had our carnet stamped out of Kenya in Times Towers building 4th floor, and passports stamped out at Nyaya House next to Intercontinental Hotel both in the centre of Nairobi. This was very simple, they are obviously used to doing it.

Our route; Nairobi west to Gilgil, north to Nyahuhuru (camped at Thompson Falls Lodge- spacious and peaceful), to Maralal (we camped at Maralal safari Lodge, no facilities, understand that Yare camel camp has reopened). Maralal is the last reliable fuel until Jinka, 830kms away. On through Barsaloi and Baragoi to South Horr (we were told that this is the best route as the lorries don’t use it). It was certainly very beautiful.. The first part through the mountains was rocky, narrow and steep in places, this turned into easy sand tracks in the valley bottom. At South Horr we camped 8 kms north at Kurungu camp- we would recommend this lovely community project. On from here through lava fields on stony tracks, the lava rock did cut the tyres but damage was not excessive. We camped at Loyangalani –at the very pleasant Palm Shade camp (last sweet water here). LakeTurkana is beautiful. Next stop Sibiloi National Park (the NP guest house at Alia Bay, slept 6 and was cheaper than camping!) . We visited the Petrified forest and Koobi Fora (which we found fascinating) then on to Illiret where we reported to the police post who recorded our passport numbers. The police there told us that there were bandits in the area, but that they were mainly cattle rustlers and that they were aware of only 1 incident involving a tourist and that was 7 years ago. They advised against wild camping. We hit the Turmi- omorate road and found a quiet spot to wild camp. Went to Omorate next morning for our passports to be stamped then returned the 18 kms to the Turmi road.

Using this route turned what would have been a 3 day chore via Isiolo – Marsabit - Moyale over very bad roads into a 5 day adventure through some of the most beautiful scenery in one of the more interesting and remote parts of Africa. We followed Tracks 4 Africa all the way without deviation. We would recommend a reasonable 4x4 although we only used low ratio and 4 wheel drive occasionally (and even that was probably not essential). It was however hard work for the bikers even though we carried some of their additional fuel and water. Of the 12 tyres only one had a puncture and that was from a thorn. We were stopped by 1 herdsman (with a rifle) who asked for and was given water. We all carried extra water bottles and a small amount of cash in a separate wallet, just in case. A great experience.

Another bonus to this route is that it leads you into the South Omo valley, which in itself is well worth the diversion. If you can carry extra fuel Turmi is a good base to explore its peoples from.

Our big regret is that we didn’t spend more time on this whole route. If anyone wants further info, just ask or our blog is;
secondtimearoundafrica.blogspot.com

Terry and Jean. July 2011

+1 for the Lake Turkana route. Your experience sounds very similar to mine at the beginning of the year - stunning scenery, friendly people and interesting but not too challenging tracks (in a 4x4 at least). All the herders seem to carry guns in this area, but to protect their cattle not hold up tourists. We also got asked a few times for water along the way, and carried plenty and some spare bottles to hand out - people were grateful and didn't ask us for anything else.

great to find info here about that route
i wonder if its ok to do it on a motorbike ??
yes without a supporting car ,maybe 2 bikes , if its not only me :scooter:
can you please give more details about fuel ,(as mentioned before 800 km i cant do on motorbike without refilling ,can do up to 450 km max
thanks

Hi Omar,

How's things?

Yes, you can do the Turkhana route on motorbikes, unsupported by trucks.

Having a support vehicle will make the ride much more enjoyable though, so if you can coordinate and go with a 4x4 overlander, all the better.

The reason is that you have to carry extra fuel and water for the route and that makes your bike very heavy. You most likely won't need fuel for the full 800km as usually you can buy some private fuel in Loyangalani (from the mission) but it is still more than a tank.

Keep in mind that the road is pretty rough and very rocky in places for a motorbike and as such you will be going slow and your fuel consumption will be high. From memory I think we carried an extra 20 litres of fuel each and that got us to Loyangalani. Plan for plenty of water as well.

Have fun if you go, it's good adventure.

Hi Ian
Thank you very much for your offer
I have just sent you a PM with our story in french.
Merci et bon courage !
Nadine,

hi Mountain man ,thanks a lot for your info :thumbup1:
please if you still have your route ,way points will be good for every one if you post it in H-U is i think many other people will like to do it to avoid road to hell through Isiolo - Moyale
,for sure when ever you have time ,
cheers

I'd be interested to know if there's a consensus of opinion on the best strategy to use in this type of circumstance - ie faced with an unknown armed local wanting you to stop.
What would you do? Stop, be freindly and discuss, hoping that they only want water? Drive past at speed? Stop, reverse and wait for other vehicles? Stop and be prepared to hand over everything?

I suspect reading Nadine's information that by the time that you see them, you've already passed one accomplish (ie reversing is probably not an option?), and that there's probably another accomplish further up the road too (so driving on isn't an option?).

It possibly depends on your vehicle type - a bike will be different toa 4x4 will be different to a high truck.

Any thoughts would be welcomed.

Ian

Safety
 

Glad to hear he is recovering! sad though that banditry is still a concern up North- I would say though before crossing into the Northern Frontier talk to the local Police and find out when the next convoy leaves or better if you have the funds workout something with them - they do this all the time- you have to be the one making the suggestions since by law they are not supposed to do this - wink wink - also find out what local banks operate at the next stop and wire the money to yourself (western union/moneygram).

Check us out for rentals n support - on www.motoadvkenya.com & facebook/motoadvkenya

Hi Ian,
Thank you very much for the translation you made. I put it at the end of this post. To answer to your question : we've always been told that the best strategy is to not resist and that is what we tried to do. But the problem is that in our case they didn't let us apply the strategy ! Things go so fast that not sure you have enough time to really think, you do aswell with your instinct. For our case, it was too late to go inverse, too hard to avoid stop and keep going on because the track was very slow (and after we saw that there were people aswell ambushed in front of us and in our back), so we decided to slow down and stop and try to be cool but at the first sight we saw that the situation was not good.

So that how everything happened :

Wednesday 25th May 2011, my friend David and myself were driving towards Northern Kenya on the A2 heading for Marsabit after having visited Samburu Park. My friend was driving our right-hand-drive Toyota 4x4 converted into a camper, I (Nadine) was in the passenger seat.
After the village of Merille, the tarmac finishes and we had to continue on a poor track and therefore driving slowly. It was around 3:30pm when we saw a man on the left of the road, armed with a rifle signalling us to stop. We slowed and stopped next to him, keeping the motor running.
The young man, very excited, shouted at us, threatening us with his gun. We remained with our hands in the air. We didn’t understand exactly what he wanted, but we thought that he wanted money and anything of value. We told him that we had money and that we would give him it. Unfortunately, as soon as we moved to try to give him something, he got annoyed, and if we didn’t move he got even more annoyed, continually threatening us with his gun.
Very soon we heard loud banging on the car: another youth appeared from behind, also on the left hand side, hitting the car with a “rungu”, a traditional weapon, and once he drew level with me, he hit me violently below the left shoulder blade.
Then he tried to open the left hand door, but luckily David had locked the doors. The bandits were totally excited, and we couldn’t find a way of calming the situation. Suddenly, in front of us, but on the right, we saw another armed man arriving, running towards us.
As the situation was only getting worse, we decided to get away.
At the moment that we started off, they fired at us, from all sides.
Happily for me, I had ducked down at this moment, but David couldn’t because he was driving, he was hit by a bullet in the left hand side of his jaw. In spite of this we managed to get away.
We passed a 4x4 coming the other way but didn’t stop it because we were afraid that it could be accomplishes of the bandits.

Several kilometres later we were obliged to stop because the rear left tyre was totally destroyed due to having been hit by bullets. Even though he was injured, David had to change the tyre while I kept a lookout in case the attackers caught up with us – we had turned the engine off to try to avoid being heard.
Once the wheel had been changed we continued and almost immediately came across a truck loaded with passengers and goods, coming the other way. We stopped them to let them know and to see if they could help us. They indicated that there was a village a few kilometres away with a hospital and police station. A few minutes later we arrived at the Laisamis catholic hospital where my friend was looked at by the Dr Mollis and Sister Jessica who gave him first aid while I tried to contact our medical insurance to organise his repatriation.

After several hours an ambulance was dispatched from Nanyuki with an armed escort from Isiolo. It arrived around midnight and we took the same road back to Nanyuki cottage hospital where we arrived around 4am. There was no doctor, just a nurse. We had to wait till 10am to finally see a doctor who organised an airlift with the Royal flying doctors and we arrived at Nairobi hospital where David was seen by a doctor and a specialist – he was operated on the following morning.

Lots of luck in spite of everything!

Merci encore à Ian pour la traduction

Nadine,

Consensus ?
 

Don't know about any concensus but if you try anything like escaping you are provoking the situation and there may be an unpleasant response from them - even to shoot at you.
Surely the best is to try to avoid the situation by travelling up the other route, travelling in convoy and or arranging a police escort.
You must be prepared to give up "everything" if necessary. We kept some cash in a wallet available and some hidden which we could also give whilst keeping the bulk of cash hidden elsewhere. You can always get more cash or water, another life is more difficult.
Having said all that and over dramatising a bit, we have spoken to lots of people who have travelled both routes as well as the tourist police and criminal police. Most have had no problems and the rest have only had to give water. Nadine and David were extremely unlucky which is sad for them but they only got into bad trouble when they tried to drive away. In the heat of the moment who knows what we would have done in their situation? We are really glad he is on the mend.