Sunday, September 28, 2008
Military and diplomatic sources claimed the hardware was destined for Southern Sudan.
Sudan faces United Nations’ arms embargo, which Kenya is a signatory, and also guarantor to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended war between the South and the North after 25 years.
The claims were rebuffed by Government Spokesman Alfred Mutua who termed the assertion as "misleading and aimed at diverting the attention from Kenya to another country".
"There has been propaganda by the pirates that the weapons are not for the Kenyan military," read the statement posted online.
Mutua said efforts to secure the ship hijacked two days ago were going on. He maintained that the Government was not in contact with the pirates.
"The Government advises media to be cautious about being used by terrorists," he said.
Wire agencies reported last night that the Somali pirates who hijacked the Ukrainian freighter demanded 20 million dollars in ransom despite being surrounded by three foreign warships on Sunday.
The pirates’ spokesman confirmed via satellite telephone that they were surrounded by three foreign war vessels and said his crew was "safe".
"What we are awaiting eagerly is the 20 million dollars (13.7 million euros), nothing less, nothing more," Sugule Ali said.
Imported from Ukraine
Ali confirmed that the ship was under siege, but he said the pirates would not give themselves up.
not afraid
"We are not afraid and will not abandon the ship. There is no shortage of food supply and the crew members are well," Ali said.
Earlier, the adviser to the presidency of Puntland, Bile Qabowsade, told AFP that three warships were tracking the pirates and two were very close to it.
"One of these ships is from the United States and the other two from European Union countries," he said.
The governments of Britain, France, Germany and Greece told AFP their sailors were not involved in the operation.
On Friday, Somali pirates seized the equipment imported from Ukraine.
Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka said the Government was in contact with the captain of the ship, but could not give more details.
Speaking in Nairobi, the VP said peace in Somalia was peace to the region, adding that every effort was being made to reign in the current lawlessness.
"The Somali coastline and waters is an important sector that affects Kenya’s imports and exports," he said.
On Saturday, the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement, which rules South Sudan, denied connection with the hijackers.
Kenya’s Defence Minister Yusuf Haji and Sudanese diplomat to Kenya Guandong Majok could not be reached for comment.
—Additional reporting by AFP
Source: Standard, Sept 28, 2008