Police arrests suspected Al Shabab militia in Al Shabab

By James Munyeki

LAIKIPIA, KENYA: Police in Laikipia have arrested a suspect believed to be allied to the Al Shabab militia.

The suspect has confirmed to have spent the last two years in Kismayu, Somali where he has undergone training.

Ngarua District Officer Rufus Kihara said that the 20-year-old man was arrested at Matwiku area where full Al Shabab uniform and other paraphernalia belonging to the militia were recovered.

The uniform were two militia trousers with Arabic wordings, a barret from the Sultanate of Oman, two medals with medallions indicating important attachment to Al Shabab and several Kenya identification cards which did not bear his name.

They are suspected to belong to recruits.

Kihara said that the suspect had earlier in the morning assaulted a police officer in the company of another man who escaped before it was discovered that he might be belonging to the Al Shabab militia group.

“Police had arrested him as he had assaulted one of them in the morning hours.During his questioning, he said that he feared no one including the police as he belonged to Al Shabab,” he said.

Kihara said that was when the police got curious and went to his house where police recovered the uniform.

He said that relatives confirmed that the middle aged man had been away for the last two years and he only resurfaced last week.

The administrator noted that police tracked his sim card and it was discovered that he had been using it in Kismayu.

Kihara observed that the suspect might have been on a hide out in the area having run away from the war against Al Shabab and Kenya Defence Forces.

The suspect is being held at Kinamba police station awaiting to be taken to court.