Terror suspects nabbed on their way to Mandera

Wednesday, May 28, 2014
- BY STEPHEN ASTARIKO

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Two suspected terrorists have been arrested in Mandera county. Police said they believe Yunis Mohammed Osman, a Somali, and Mahabub Aden Adow, a Kenyan, are behind criminal activities in the region.

They were nabbed in Lafey town en route to Mandera town on Monday. Mandera county police commander Noah Mwivanda said the men, who "appeared suspicious", were in a bus from Nairobi.

“One of our police officers was in the said bus and, according to him, any time the bus neared a police road block Adow would hide Osman under a seat," Mwivanda told the Star on the phone. The officer on the bus informed the Lafey OCPD.

Mwivanda said the Lafey police boss gave chase, stopped the bus, and ordered all aboard to step out. All passengers and crew were searched before the two were arrested.

Osman, a refugee on run from Dadaab refugee camp in Garissa was staying in Nairobi with with Adow. Mwivanda said Adow had earlier been charged with terror-related activities and had been freed on a Sh200,000 bond.

The two will be arraigned in a Mandera court where Adow will be charged with aiding a foreigner to escape a police dragnet. Osman will be charged with being in the country illegally.

Meanwhile, the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit is holding a Tanzanian arrested in Mandera town enroute to Somalia. A source in the unit told the press Mbaraka Omar Ramadhani had evaded police road blocks in Nairobi, Garissa and Wajir.

“Acting on a tip off we managed to nab him before he could get into Somalia and he has confessed to being an al Shabaab member,” said the source, who sought anonymity.

Mandera town has experienced a series of bomb, grenade and gun attacks for the past three weeks. The strikes are blamed on Somalia nationals who cross the porous border through Bulla Hawa. A county government administration block and a bus park were destroyed by a powerful bomb three weeks ago.

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