Wednesday, June 4, 2014
MARTIN MWITA
MISTAKEN IDENTITY ? Lamu county commissioner Steve Ikua
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LAMU county commissioner Stephen Ikua has dismissed reports that police may have escorted terror suspect Samantha Lewthwaite.This is after reports emerged that police in the county had in April this year, offered armed escort for a mysterious white woman, travelling in a vehicle that was used to attack and kill two Kenyan soldiers last week.
The Toyota Land Cruiser registration number KAV 599E is said to have been used by the woman between April 15 and 22.
She had hired it so as to cross the Kenya-Somalia border.
It is feared that the woman was the 30-year-old terror suspect famously known as the White Widow and the world’s most wanted woman.
According to reports, the woman spent her nights at a local hotel for almost a week while being guarded by two armed policemen from Mukowe police post.
She is also said to have visited the police post and other security stations as she attempted to cross to Somalia.
It is alleged that she paid the two officers Sh10,000 each daily for her escort and had posed as a United
Nations official.
The woman is said to have vanished after failing to make entry into Somalia.
However, Ikua yesterday dismissed the claims.
He said the woman in question was a tourists who sought an escort, which is allowed.
“I wish to clarify that these are rumors and the woman who was escorted by police is known as Maria Mira Martinez. She works with an NGO called Friends of Africa International and came to visit Lamu,” Ikua said.
He said Martinez visited the Kiunga National Reserve and the vehicle she used was registration number KAU 822R.
“We have her particulars and the vehicle she used and not what people are quoting. She asked for an escort and the government provided it. Let’s stop these kinds of rumors” Ikua said.
He said Lamu is a tourist destination and everyone is welcome to visit.
Ikua and county police boss Leonard Omollo, who spoke to the Star on the phone yesterday, said Lamu is safe and security agents are doing their best to safeguard the region from any threats.
Coast regional immigration boss Joseph Kanyiri dismissed possibilities of an unidentified person crossing the border.
He said the Kiunga border is closed for immigration activities and is a multiagency border being guarded by the police, military personnel, and other government agencies.
“Kiunga border is neither used as an entry nor an exit point for normal movements. It is highly guarded by the police and army hence no one can go through,” Kanyiri said.
The White Widow is top on the list of terror suspects and was linked to last year’s September 21 attack at Nairobi’s Westgate Mall.
According to intelligence reports, Lewthwaite is currently married to suspected warlord Hassan Maalim Ibrahim, also known as Sheikh Hassan in Somalia.
Sheikh Hassan is said to be among the top leaders of the al Shabaab.