The Boni forest in Lamu County is a rich coastal ecosystem.
But for years terrorists used its canopy to ambush unsuspecting travellers, especially at the Kwa Omollo Bridge section.
The spot has earned notoriety for attacks in which civilians and security personnel have lost their lives.
This year alone, at least four attacks and ambushes have been reported at the bridge.
On March 11, five construction workers were killed and three seriously injured at the site.
Another notable terrorist attack at the bridge was on January 23, when heavily armed militants burnt eight construction vehicles and other equipment belonging to the China Communications Construction Company (CCCC).
The equipment, including tippers, rollers and excavators, were being used in building a Sh17. 9 billion Lapsset corridor project access road.
Earlier, on August 8, 2018, six Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) soldiers were killed and five others seriously wounded when their vehicle ran over a home-made bomb at the bridge.
In 2019, four militants died and others were injured as they were planting explosives at the Bridge. The devices exploded prematurely.
At least 40 terror incidents have been reported at the Kwa Omollo Bridge since 2014 and over 100 people have killed in different attacks.
Of this number, at least half were security officers.
But why and how do terrorists call the shots in this section?
Kwa Omollo Bridge lies between Bar’goni and Bodhei Junction villages, all of which are in the dense Boni forest.
The bridge is about 10km from Bar’goni in Lamu West and over 20km from Bodhei Junction in Lamu East.
The area has a poor mobile phone network. This has always made it hard for locals and security agencies to call for help when attacks happen so that security units can respond promptly.
Another problem is a poor road network, and terrorists know that vehicles cannot move quickly through it.
The area also provides perfect training grounds and hideouts for the militants. Terrorists have always found it easy to move freely and attack at will.
The 517-square-mile Boni forest stretches from Lamu and Garissa counties all the way to the Somalia border.
Security experts also cite the proximity of the forest and Lamu to the border – terrorists can easily sneak in and out.
Despite intense security operations in the forest, the area remains a headache for soldiers and police.
The bridge was named after an elderly fisherman identified as Mzee Omollo from Kenya’s Nyanza region. He had established a settlement in the area, initially known as Majengo, in the late 1950s.
Mzee Omollo used to fish in River Majengo, said Boni community elder and historian Doza Diza. When the old man’s health began to fail, he left the area in 1997 and went back to Nyanza.
The area has been referred to as Kwa Omollo Bridge since.
The bridge was built to aid the movement of people and vehicles from Kiunga on the Kenya-Somalia border through Boni forest villages, and all the way to Bar’goni, Hindi and other parts of Lamu.
But the misfortunes in Majengo or Kwa Omollo Bridge did not start with terror attacks. They can be traced back to the Shifta War of the 1960s.
Salim Barissa, another Boni community elder and historian, told Nation.Africa that hundreds of residents died in Kwa Omollo area in frequent attacks orchestrated by Shifta militants, who used the area as a hideout because of its terrain and dense jungle.
But terror attacks at the Kwa Omollo Bridge became more prominent in 2014.
The first attack witnessed at the bridge was in May 2014, when two Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) soldiers were gunned down by terrorists.
The two were among tens of soldiers ferrying food supplies in a lorry from Mpeketoni to the Lamu-Somalia border when they were ambushed at the bridge.
The bridge is within the zone where a security operation now called Operation Amani Boni is still going on, having started about eight years ago as Operation Linda Boni.
The operation was launched in September 2015 with the key objective of flushing out terrorists believed to have been hiding in the forest.
Security sources with knowledge of the area, who talked to Nation.Africa on the condition of anonymity, revealed that a week hardly passes without a terror incident being reported at the Kwa Omollo Bridge.
“We’re always alert here. These terrorists always show up at the Kwa Omollo spot almost weekly, if not daily, to attack and disappear,” the officer said.
“They take advantage of the fact that the place is like a valley and uninhabitable. But we’re trying our best to avert such invasions by the militants.”
Locals we spoke to said more could be done to avert more terror attacks.
“Kwa Omollo Bridge is situated very far from human settlements. The place is too isolated and bushy,” said Bakari Ali, a resident of Boni forest.
“That’s why these terrorists keep attacking passers-by, knowing very well that they are helpless there. We need security camps established at the bridge to end this.”
Khadija Musa urged the government to cooperate with mobile network service providers to set up communication masts in the area.
“Even if you’re attacked, people can’t make calls because the area has a poor phone network. This needs to be looked into,” Ms Musa said.
Abdulrahman Tete believes that improving roads and communication networks could help prevent more attacks.
“For years, (terrorists) conducted frequent attacks and killings, but it took quite some time for the government to start rebuilding the Kwa Omollo Bridge in a bid to secure it from the militants,” said Khamis Guyo.
Lamu County Commissioner Irungu Macharia acknowledged the challenge of eradicating terrorists in the Boni forest.
He cited poor road and mobile phone networks and the remoteness of the area.
But he said the building of the Lamu-Ijara-Garissa-Lapsset corridor access road will improve security.
“Due to the recent terror attacks, the road construction works had slowed down a bit but they will resume very soon. I have high hopes that once the road is completed, it will boost the security of the area,” Mr Macharia said.
“The government is also constructing a modern bridge at Kwa Omollo that will see the spot raised so that the terrorists find no (hideouts to) launch attacks.” BY DAILY NATION