In the wake of a growing number of abduction cases in the country, Kenyans have taken it upon themselves to resist and help victims get justice. Citi Hoppa bus driver recalls events on the day he tried to save Maria Sarungi Tsehai from her abductors in Nairobi. One such instance is the case of the Citi Hoppa commuter bus driver who intervened when he realised a woman was being abducted at Kilimani in Nairobi county.
The driver, identified as Isaack Mwangi, reversed his vehicle with passengers on board to block the van used to kidnap Tanzanian journalist and human rights activist Maria Sarungi Tsehai. Despite his efforts to save the woman, the abductors managed to manouver and get away with the activist. His heroic act was captured on camera by another driver of a private car and Kenyans on social media thanked and praised him for the selfless act. Citi Hoppa driver speaks Mwangi said he noticed commotion through his rear mirror, prompting him to act swiftly.
“I was looking and my side mirror and saw what was happening. I decided to block them from getting way. After blocking their way, they decided to make a turn at the metropolitan court, and that’s where I reversed to block them yet again,” he recalled in a report by Citizen TV. The brave man narrated that the abductors took out their riffles when they saw him making a third attempt to block their way. “The person who captured the video could have helped by blocking the van from the front so that the abductors were stuck in the middle. When they saw me changing my gear, they took out their guns,” he said. Is Maria Sarungi safe?
Kidnappers held the activist for about four hours before they released her in the middle of nowhere. Maria Sarungi took to her social media pages to confirm her release. In a post on her verified X handle, Sarungi announced to her followers that she had been released and was safe. She later shared details of her horrific ordeal in the hands of the abductors, suspected to have links with the Tanzanian government.
The middle-aged woman has criticised the Tanzanian government led by President Samia Suluhu. Despite the ordeal, the activist vowed to keep fighting for justice and what is right even if the state does not want her to do so.
by Lynn-Linzer Kibebe
