An ambulance, bhang worth Ksh3M, onions, an accident and 3 fatalities: Shocking incident on Moyale-Garissa route

Three people died on Thursday and a few injured after an ambulance was involved in a head-on-collision with a Toyota Probox at Takaba Town in Mandera County.

The ambulance, a Toyota Land Cruiser that belongs to Takaba Nursing Home, was transporting 56 rolls of bhang worth Ksh3 million when the accident occurred, police said.

Hundreds of onions placed in carton boxes had been arranged on top of the rolls of bhang in the ambulance “in order to suppress the smell of the drug”, police said.

North Eastern Regional Commissioner Nicodemus Ndalana told K24 Digital that the ambulance driver attempted to avoid ramming another vehicle ahead, consequently, swerving to the oncoming lane on which he collided head-on with a Toyota Probox.

Two occupants of the Toyota Probox died on the spot, whereas the third passenger succumbed to his injuries at the Garissa County Referral Hospital.

The ambulance driver fled the scene after the crash, said Ndalana.

Authorities wondered how the ambulance, which came from Moyale successfully passed several roadblocks en route to Garissa, a distance of over 445 kilometers.

North Eastern Police Commander Paul Soi said they are interrogating the survivors to get more information in regard to the crash.

“The bhang’s origin is Ethiopian side,” said Soi.

“When we were combing the accident scene, we discovered several cartons of onions had been stashed in the ambulance. We suspect that the occupants of the ambulance piled onions on top of the 56 rolls of bhang worth Ksh3 million to suppress the smell so that no suspicion could be raised,” said Soi.

The police boss said they are pursuing the ambulance driver, who took off to an unknown destination.

The mangled wreckages of the two vehicles were towed to a nearby police station.