Cuban doctors in Wajir and Garissa recalled after kidnap

Piece by: Uncle Chim Tuna
Lifestyle

The government has recalled four Cuban doctors from Wajir and Garissa following the kidnap of their two colleagues on Friday by suspected al Shabaab militants.

Assel Herera Correa (physician) and Landy Rodriguez (surgeon) were kidnapped in Mandera.

A senior security officer in Garissa who spoke on conditions of anonymity said the doctors left Garissa on Saturday morning under heavy security.

 “We received orders from our seniors on Friday evening to arrange for their transport back to Nairobi and on Saturday morning they left,” he said.

He added: “It is natural that following the abduction of their colleagues who are also their countrymen, they have a lot of anxiety. The kidnap makes it impossible for them to work under the prevailing conditions”.

Garissa deputy governor Abdi Dagane said the county government has been worried about the security of the Cuban doctors.

"We had to tighten the security around the doctors and make sure they are not exposed to risk."

Mid last year, burglars broke into their house while they were asleep and stole goods including a TV and a home theatre.

Mandera Governor Ali Roba blamed the abduction of the doctors on security lapses. There are many security officers in the region yet they do not guarantee safety, he said.

In Wajir, Governor Mohamed Abdi confirmed the two Cuban doctors stationed there had been flown to Nairobi. He did not give details.

Mandera Governor Roba on Saturday during a meeting with residents hit out at the security apparatus following lapses that led to the abduction of the doctors.

A search for the medics is still going on.

He wondered how the doctors could be abducted from Mandera town with more than a thousand security officers on patrol.

Elders from Mandera have already gone to Bula Hawa in Somalia where the abductors are believed to have fled with the doctors.