Ugandan plane ferries home three suspected terrorists

There was drama at the Moi International Airport, Mombasa, when a chartered plane arrived there to fly home three suspected terrorists.
The three Ugandans were arrested in connection with last month’s Kampala bombing, which killed 76 people as they watched the World Cup final.
The plane was chartered by the Ugandan government after Kenyan authorities informed them they had strong belief the men were involved in the attacks.

Anti-Terror Police Unit (ATPU) had planned to fly the suspects to Nairobi and later to Entebbe but the plan was cut short after the Ugandan authorities said they had dispatched a plane to Mombasa.

By then, the suspects, who were under heavy security, had been driven to the airport waiting to be flown to Nairobi.

various agencies

And within a short while, the plane landed and flew the suspects to Kampala on Sunday afternoon.

ATPU detectives said the arrests came after thorough investigations that involved various agencies.

“There is evidence they were involved in the bombings and that is why we decided to fly them to Kampala to face the charges,” said a senior source that sought anonymity.

Their identities were not disclosed but officials said ATPU had questioned them since their arrest on Friday in Kongowea, Mombasa.

Earlier, three Kenyans were arrested and handed over to Ugandan Authority where they were charged with 76 counts of murder during last month's bombings in Kampala.
A mobile phone found alongside an unexploded suicide vest led to their arrest.
calls made
Police discovered an unexploded suicide vest packed into a black laptop bag at a third site in a nightclub southwest of Kampala.

“The mobile phone could have been used to set off the explosive device remotely”, said police.

Idris Magondu, 42, Hussein Hassan Agad, 27, and Muhammed Aden Addow, 25, were charged with 89 offences. Three counts of terrorism, 76 counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder and remanded to Luzira Prison until August 27.

Detectors discerned records related to calls made or received on the phone using its serial number.

The discovery is believed to have forced Ugandan Inspector General of Police Kale Kayihura to visit Police Commissioner Mathew Iteere in Nairobi last month before the arrests were made.

Police picked the three Kenyans on July 26 from Mlolongo and Kawangware estates in Nairobi, and handed them over to Ugandan authorities on July 28.

Detectives had tried to arrest the three, after establishing they were in Kenya, but one of the suspects, Magondu, whose mobile phone was being tracked, had temporarily stopped using it.

But on July 25, Magondu used the same phone to call the customer service of the Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) to know his electricity bill.

Sources said US’ FBI, Interpol and detectives from CID in Nairobi interrogated the trio at an undisclosed location before handing them over.

“They had been to and from Kampala on several occasions to plan the mission,” said one detective, who did not want to be named.

Some of the suspects, together with the three who were arrested in Mombasa, had crossed into Uganda on July 9, two days before the bomb attack, using a bus service

They were allegedly not charged the bus fare, which is raising suspicion that someone in the bus company could be a collaborator.