South Africa to help probe Samantha ID

By PHILIP MWAKIO

South Africa has expressed willingness to work with Kenya to determine the validity of a South African passport alleged to be in hands of a terror suspect believed to have taken part in the Westgate attack.

Information from the South African Press Association and carried in the City Press edition quotes the Department of Home Affairs spokesperson, Ronnie Mamoepa, saying, “The government has not had sight of the alleged passport nor has it received communiqué from Kenya.”

He said should such a notice be received, the government would act on it. “Given our good bilateral relations, we stand ready to co-operate with Kenyan authorities to determine the validity of the passport,” he said.

Media reports indicate a ‘White Widow’, a woman believed to have been instrumental in the planning and execution of the recent terrorist attack in Nairobi, is in possession of a fake South African passport.

The newspaper reports that Kenya was investigating Samantha Lewthwaite, who is linked to British Islamic militant Jermaine Grant, currently on trial in Mombasa for terrorist-related offences, including forgery to obtain a Kenyan identity card.