Police pursue suspected Al-Shabaab recruiter and arrest two students

Police are probing an incident in which a pistol was recovered inside an abandoned house belonging to a terror suspect.

According to police, the suspect, believed to be in charge of youth recruitment in Eldama Ravine, fled the house moments before the night raid.

Investigators have been sent to Nairobi after reports linked the suspect to other terror activities in the city.

Eldama Ravine deputy police boss Jonathan Wafula said apart from the firearm, there were also mobile phones and other “strange” apparatus found in the house situated on the Nakuru-Eldama road.

He said initial investigations revealed the suspect had extensive training in Afghanistan before sneaking back into the country.

“What we are sure of is that he went to hide in Nairobi. Our challenge now is to establish the number of people he has radicalised and the scope of the networks in the region. The suspect is on the run and we are appealing for any information from the public,” said Mr Wafula.

MALE STUDENTS

He said during the twin raids, two male university students and a convict who recently escaped from Eldoret Prison were arrested on suspicion of belonging to the Somalia-based terrorist group.

The three were arrested in one house and have been grilled by the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit who had been called in from Eldoret to assist with investigations.

Paul Onyego, who according to the police escaped from prison in 2014 and has been allegedly working with the terror mastermind, was picked by prison authorities and taken back to Eldoret for further questioning.

The students, one from Eldoret Technical Training Institute and another from the University of Nairobi, were questioned and allowed to go back home, But the deputy OCPD said they were not off the hook yet.

DISTANT LEARNER

“The information we already have is that the technical student abandoned his studies and has been in the area for a long time, while his colleague is a distant learner student at the University of Nairobi,” he said.

He said the terror suspect was allegedly targeting youths from poor families and urged parents to be vigilant during the December holidays.

Last year, police arrested a suspect after he left a mosque in the town but despite locals linking him to terror-related activities, police insisted he had escaped from Kabarnet Prison.