Monday, October 31, 2011

Bomber targeted Nyayo Stadium



By cyrus ombati
A call that Elgiva Bwire Oliacha, alias Mohamed Saif placed to one of his accomplices enabled police to track him before his arrest a few meters from his house in Nairobi’s Kayole estate.
Police investigations show Bwire called Omar Muchiri Athuman, alias Orima alias Hussein on the day he was arrested to thank him for the "good job" that had been done.
An informer then told police of Bwire’s arsenal before he was placed under surveillance. The informer had also been called by Bwire and was supposed to pick up a grenade from his house.
A visibly unrepentant Elgiva Bwire, who confessed to launching last week’s grenade attacks in Nairobi, will spend the rest of his life behind bars. Photo: File/Standard
But instead, he opted to work with the security agencies by revealing the dastardly deeds. Earlier in the day, Bwire had posted messages on his Facebook account praising the two grenade attacks that had occurred in the city. He then claimed there would be 13 more attacks to follow. By the time the first attack took place at Mwaura’s bar, police had put Bwire on their watchlist.
On Tuesday morning, he called Muchiri saying he was in Kayole and was happy with the work done so far.
A team of detectives and crack General Service Unit officers was mobilised after Bwire’s location was pinpointed through his cell phone.
The detectives picked up Bwire from the Kayole streets at about midday and took him to a secret location for interrogation.
He then confessed to the officers he had the weapons and explosives. It was then that more officers were called in to stage a raid on his house.
"He was very co-operative and told us we were lucky or had been guided by some forces to get him," said a senior officer who participated in the operation.
Charged separately
It is not clear what roles Muchiri and Stephen Macharia, alias Mchango, who were charged separately and denied being members of Al-Shabaab and possessing arms illegally, played in the attacks.
Bwire was jailed for life last Friday after admitting he was an Al-Shabaab member. He informed police he converted to Islam in 2005 in Nairobi and had been to various mosques in the city for teachings. He travelled to Somalia in February and returned in August this year.
Bwire told police a man identified as only Abdulatif, sent him an e-mail a few days after his return asking him to go collect a parcel that had been sent to Eastleigh, which he did.
Anti-terror police have obtained a copy of the e-mail. They confirmed that the parcel contained 15 grenades, guns and 717 assorted bullets.
Bwire told the officers he was taken to Baidoa, in Somalia by Abdulatif and trained in a forest in a group of 30 recruits, including 10 youths. And after training, he sneaked back into Kenya by road through Mandera.
Police were shocked by his confession that on Mashujaa Day on October 20, he had carried one grenade to Nyayo Stadium "for a test run."
In the stadium, he posed as a hawker selling sweets. Police were to later find the grenade and sweets when they staged a raid on his house.
Bwire told police he went to the stadium and mingled with wananchi who had arrived for the occasion that was presided over by President Kibaki under tight security.
He decided not to detonate the explosive because of the rain and because a chance meeting with his mother distracted him.
His mother, who works with Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company, has told police she bumped into him after almost a year as he walked out of the stadium.
Bwire left the stadium with his deadly cargo and went to his house, which did not have a single piece of furniture, save for a prayer mat.
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