KDF soldiers display a cache of weapons outside Mpeketoni Hospital after killing 11 Al-Shabaab terrorists who had attacked a military camp in Lamu. PHOTO | ATHMAN OMAR | NATION MEDIA GROUP
Sunday, June 21, 2015
A man suspected to have been wounded when Kenya Defence Forces killed 18 Al-Shabaab attackers on June 14 was arrested in Voi on Saturday.
Inspector-General of Police Joseph Boinnet confirmed the arrest, saying police suspect he was among the attackers at a military camp in Lamu County. He said the suspect was helping police with investigations.
“We have one man in custody in Voi. He claimed to have sustained a gunshot injury while in South Sudan. No one in his right mind could have travelled that far with such a wound without seeking medical assistance,” he said.
“We suspect that the gunshot wound must have been sustained in the neighbourhood – probably Lamu County. We are interrogating him,” he said.
Following the Lamu attack, the IG said security teams have captured footage that the suspects were recording.
“Our defence forces were able to repulse the attackers in Baure; we have been able to identify how the terrorists were preparing to cause harm to Kenyans,” Mr Boinnet said.
CAUSE HARM
The police boss spoke on Saturday at the Moi International Airport after a visit to the Skembo area of Changamwe, Mombasa County.
The Inspector-General at the same time appealed to Kenyans to help in the identification of the 40 suspected Al-Shabaab attackers who attempted to take over the military camp in Lamu County.
He said pictures of the suspects had been given to the media and the world so that Kenyans and other people may help identify them.
“National security is a collaborative effort; it is a responsibility for every Kenyan and not just the police. We must act to secure our country and it is my appeal to Kenyans to help us identify these individuals,” he said.
Mr Boinnet called on all returnees from Somalia to continue surrendering themselves to security agencies, saying they would not be arrested but will be rehabilitated to join the rest of the society in nation-building.
“Anybody who may be associated in any way with terrorism and has voluntarily decided to come back home, is free to do so but we would wish to know who these individuals are. We ask them to surrender to the authorities.
“We are appealing to anybody who may be hiding to give themselves up,” Mr Boinnet said.
He said security agencies have a strategy to rehabilitate and reintegrate returnees in the society.
He assured Muslims of security during the holy month of Ramadhan.