Friday October 16, 2015
By Ken Bett
Marsabit CCIO Bernard Barasa speaks to journalists in his office on October 13,2015. He said one terror suspect identified as Yakub Abdi Omar was arrested after a suspicious night visit to to Marsabit County Referral Hospital while six others who are on the run are being pursued.
Police in Marsabit have arrested a man suspected to be a member of Al-Shabaab terror group.
Yakub Abdi Omar, 29, a medical doctor of Somali origin was arrested following a suspicious visit to Marsabit County Referral Hospital on Sunday night with a group of men suspected to have links with Al-Shabaab.
County criminal investigations officer Benard Barasa said they were also pursuing three other partners that the suspect has confessed accompanied him to the hospital on a mission yet to be established.
“The suspect is in custody helping the police with investigations.
“We are also pursuing another lead provided by the hospital administration that the number of the men were seven and not four,” Mr Barasa said.
VISITED HOSPITAL AT NIGHT
The officer said the suspects visited the hospital at around 1am after convincing the night guard that they had an in-patient whom they wanted to visit.
Mr Barasa said the suspect who hails from Marsabit County and resides in Nairobi returned to Marsabit Town four days ago reportedly to visit his grandparents.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects on the run and who are also said to be residents of Marsabit are of Somali origin.
Mr Barasa said the terror group asked mothers in the hospital who had delivered and those expectant which names they intended to give to their new-born babies.
The group then promised the mothers that they would be returning to give them presents at an unspecified date, before proceeding to the male ward.
"In the male ward, the group asked the patients whether they belonged to the Muslim or Christian faith.
“They encouraged the patients not to give up in life and promised them that they would be making a comeback,” Mr Barasa told journalists in his office
He said the arrested suspect has provided detectives with crucial information and leads including the identity of the suspects on the run.
He added that the suspect said their mission to the hospital was to pray for patients out of compassion but could not tell why they did it at night.