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A family of four was seriously injured when a panga-wielding robber attacked them on the Southern Bypass as they were driving from their rural home on Saturday night.

The elder sister, Prudence Chepng’eno, who was driving sustained a cut on the face and a fracture while two of his brothers were cut on the chest and neck.

The family was travelling from Bomet to Nairobi and on reaching the spot, she lost control of the vehicle after the vehicle in front swerved.

Tyre burst

Their vehicle hit a stone and two tyres burst. She parked the vehicle and as they were removing the luggage from the boot to access the portable tyre inflator, a lone man wielding a panga confronted them.

He cut two of her brothers and they passed out immediately. The other sister rushed to the car and locked herself inside the car.

“I pleaded with the robber to pick whatever he wanted since our car boot was open. He opened the car and picked my bag and a few items before he disappeared,” she said.

The other sister immediately called the father and informed him of the attack and a few minutes later, the robber came back and demanded their phones.

The family was robbed of two phones, Sh2,000 cash, two laptops, a play station, ATM cards among other items. She then crossed the road and alerted other motorists on the other side to come to their rescue.

As she was busy seeking help, the daring robber surfaced again but by this time other motorists had arrived at the scene and later rushed her and the two brothers to the hospital.

“My two brothers passed out and lay on the ground. I was also bleeding from the cut on the face and later learnt at the hospital that I had sustained a fracture,” she said.

Langata Sub-County Police Commander (SCPC) Monica Kimani said three suspects were arrested inside the forest, just a few metres from where the attack took place.

The victims described the robber as a man aged between 25 and 30, adding that he did not conceal his face.

Deserted section

The Langata SCPC also said the place was deserted as a section of the Southern bypass has been closed till January 5.

The Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) announced the temporary closure of the section from Ole Sereni Interchange to Ngong Road Interchange from December 24 to allow for the rehabilitation of the expansion joints of all the bridges along the affected section.

“The matter is under investigation and the suspects will be subjected to identification parade once the victims are discharged from the hospital,” Kimani said. Following the recent cases of robberies reported along the bypass, Kimani said adequate officers including undercover detectives have been deployed using both marked and unmarked cars.

The victims have also asked the police to investigate how their vehicle, which was towed to Langata Police Station was vandalized while at the station’s yard.