Aboud Rogo’s widow arrested in probe into Mombasa police station attack

Haniya Said Saggar was arrested from her home in Kikambala, Kilifi County. 

Mombasa: Anti-terrorism police are holding the widow of slain Muslim cleric Sheikh Aboud Rogo in the probe into Sunday’s attempted terror attack on Mombasa Central police station.

Haniya Said Saggar was arrested from her home in Kikambala, Kilifi County and moved to Mombasa for questioning after police said they discovered she had communicated with one of the three women who were killed on Sunday in the foiled attack.

"We realised there was even exchange of money between the two and that is what we want to know from her, what they were talking about," said an officer aware of the probe. The official said they realised Haniya had been talking to Tasnim Yakub Farah who is among those killed.

Her family said the widow was arrested after several officers stormed her house at around 6pm. They said they were not aware of the reason for the arrest.

The officers confiscated her phones before driving off with her to an unknown place.

The family said they visited a number of stations but were told she was not there.

Rogo who was described by Kenyan and Western security agencies as an Al-Shabaab recruiter was killed on the Malindi-Mombasa road on August 27, 2012.

An inquest into his killing opened in 2013 and in October 2015, police were absolved from blame in the killing. A Mombasa magistrate said, at the end of the inquest, that there was no evidence of culpability on the part of the national police service or any individual officer.

The family had been blaming authorities for the killing.

On Sunday, three women linked to ISIS attacked police officers at the Central police station and stabbed one officer before they were shot dead. One of the women had a suicide vest on her but it did not explode. It has since emerged they were inspired by ISIS. They had written a letter to the terror group pledging their allegiance to them.

The matter is still under active investigation. Three other women who are refugees and believed to be accomplices have been charged with harboring the three slain women.