Seized military gear was stolen from AP armoury

Keywords: Narok; Government armoury; Munir Ahmed

By Steve Mkawale and Kipchumba Kemei

Police have traced the source of the military arsenal seized in Narok to a Government armoury.

Sources said the consignment was stolen from an Administration Police Armoury in Nairobi, and the businessman arrested in Narok could just have been used as a cover-up.

"The items are Government property and were removed from the armoury under disguise they were being taken for a security operation in the troubled Isiolo District," a senior officer in Rift Valley Province told The Standard, yesterday.

The officer, who wished not to be named, said it was easy to transport the arsenal to Narok town undetected after the removal of security roadblocks on major roads.

"The removal of police roadblocks made it easy for them to move the consignment undetected," he said.

The officer said some of his colleagues in the military and the Provincial Administration were involved.

He, however, allayed fears the weapons were to be used locally.

"The young man arrested in Narok was just a cog in a bigger ‘cartel’," the officer said.

Although authorities declined to comment on the ongoing investigation, sources said four other suspects have been arrested in Nanyuki in connection with the seizure.

"They are closing in on the mastermind of the weapons syndicate," said another police source.

Although casings of the bullets showed they originated the military run Kenya Ordinance Factory Corporation in Eldoret, investigators said the institution does not sell weapons to individuals.

State agencies only

"The factory deals with Government agencies or governments at large but not individuals or groups. There is a possibility the bullets came from Eldoret and went to a Government agency before they slipped out to this man," said a senior detective who sought anonymity.

A team of detectives has been sent to the factory to check on the manifest of how the bullets were released.

Yesterday, top Government officials met at the Office of the President on the issue and resolved to give police time to crack it.

Meanwhile, the shocking seizure sparked a demonstration in Narok town, where traders and residents claimed the recovered firearms were more than six.

The protestors asked police to unravel the mystery around the discovery of the arms cache in a local businessman’s house.

More than 100,000 bullets, six guns, military uniforms and gun cleaning oil were seized at Munir Ahmed’s house on Monday night.

The residents claimed the seizure was a threat to national security.

"The matter should not be swept under the carpet. Kenyans want to know who are behind it, the point of origin and destination," their spokesperson Charles Sena said.

 

 

 

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