Suspect in Thika Road blasts charged

Nairobi, Kenya: A man accused of blowing up two buses along the Thika Superhighway over two weeks ago was yesterday charged in a Nairobi court with committing a terrorist attack.

The court heard that the suspect, Warque Dejene Sar, received terrorism training in Kismayu, Somalia.

But Sar denied blowing up the two buses, which plied the Githurai 45 route. The attack killed two passengers and left scores others injured.

The court heard that the accused was traced through mobile phone communication on recovery of a Yu Sim card at the scene by hawk-eyed crime busters investigating terrorism activities in the country.

The prosecutor told Senior Principal Magistrate Peter Ndwiga that Sar was recruited alongside other Kenyan youths who sneaked through the border town of Mandera to the home of Al-Shabaab in Kismayu where they were trained in terrorism.

The prosecutor further informed the court that investigations conducted by officers from the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU) established that the Sim card recovered at the scene was bought from a Yu agent shop in Nairobi’s Kayole area.

According to a charge sheet produced in court, two passengers, Anthony Nganga and Anthony Miriti, died in the bus explosions, while other passengers were seriously wounded.

Sar’s charge read that on May 4, jointly with his accomplices, he placed improvised explosive devices in the two buses, which went off at Allsops and Homeland areas along the superhighway.

The court also heard that on May 12, at ATPU offices, Sar professed to be a member of outlawed Al-Shabaab terrorist group.

Five crew members of the two buses were arrested and charged at the Makadara law courts and later released on a Sh5 million bond each, which caused a hue and cry from public service vehicle operators in Nairobi.

CRIMINAL CHARGES

This prompted Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko to terminate the criminal charges facing the matatu crew who had been charged with failure to prevent murder in the twin blasts.

He noted that after perusing the files, the prosecution found no evidence to show that the accused persons knew there was a design by any of the passengers to blow up the buses.

The magistrate was asked by the prosecution to remand Sar in custody to enable him give crucial leads to ATPU officers as to where the accused and his accomplices assembled the explosive devices.

He urged the court to decline any request to admit the accused to bail pending police investigations.

Sar was remanded at the Kilimani Police Station where he will undergo thorough screening and is scheduled to appear in court on June 4 for further directions.