Police seek 30 days to probe terror suspects

Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU) now wants to have nine Tanzanian nationals and four Kenyans arrested with over 5,000 explosives held for 30 days pending investigations.

The 13 suspects, who authorities say had the intention to conduct terrorism activities across the country, were yesterday paraded before Kahawa Law court.

In an application filed by ATPU officer Kennedy Karanja, they are seeking orders allowing them to continue holding the suspects in order to interrogate them over allegations of planning to bomb various government and private institutions across Kenya.

“ We seek to have the suspects be detained by the National Police Service – Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU) for a period of thirty days at a Police Station within Nairobi County to enable us conclude investigations by having to subject all electronic gadgets recovered from them for forensic examination,” Karanja stated.

The Tanzanian suspects are Arsen Gabriel Shirima, Immanuel James Munisi, Emmanuel Gabriel Marishi, Abdulatwifu Ahmad Khamisi, Yazidu Hussein Athman, Khamisi Omar Charira, Ramadhan Khalid Kiduma, Abdi Rashid Hussein, Mohamed Ali Kalage, while the arrested Kenyans are Peter Chege Mwangi, John Kihia Mburu, Washington Chirume Ali and Abdirahman Ismael Abdulahi.

They were arrested at various places in the court as they allegedly planned how to execute terrorism acts.
Karanja says that the first seven Tanzanian foreigners were arrested at a Petrol Station along Desai Road in Ngara in Nairobi County on September 8, 2023.

While Hussein, Kalage and Mwangi were arrested on September 9, 2023 around Globe Cinema Roundabout.
The officers say that Mburu and Ali were arrested at a cafe located along Harambee Avenue and there is need to retrieve and analyse the CCTV footage from the area.

The officers further state that Abdulahi was arrested by ATPU officers at Namanga Border on September 10 as he tried to leave the country.

“ Pursuant to intelligence report on the September 8, 2023 Police Officers attached to the Kamukunji Police Station recovered explosives along Kumasi Road in Nairobi County,” Karanja says.

According to the officers, the ongoing investigations involve a probe into three buses bearing Tanzania Registration numbers christened Dolphin which have been impounded and are said to have been used to ferry the nine foreigners into the country.

The police say that during the ongoing investigations Tawakal bus booking office has been mentioned and there is need to retrieve and analyse the CCTV footage from their office.

It is said that Police officers from Kamukunji on patrol within Nairobi CBD noticed a suspicious mass package outside Tawakal bus booking office which was unattended.

The officers inquired from the management who in turn denied knowledge of the consignment. Upon inspection of the cartons, officers established that the items concealed in cartons were explosives.
The recovered articles were escorted to the station and the bomb disposal unit informed for further action and examination.

The explosive consignment includes 20 rolls of detonation code, 4480 pieces of water gel and 1250 pieces of cap detonators.

Kanja says that police want to have the suspects’ phones and their respective numbers that were recovered subjected to a detailed forensic examination.

“ There is a need to verify the identity card, emergency travel document and passport that were recovered from the respondents,” he says.

Karanja says that the suspects have other associates and accomplices who are yet to be apprehended and their release may jeopardise the ongoing effort to apprehend them.