Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Unit formed to probe attacks


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By ANTHONY KITIMO akitimo@ke.nationmedia.com AND DANIEL NYASSY dnyassy@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted  Monday, April 2  2012 at  22:30
A special team drawn from the anti-terrorism police unit, the CID and ballistic experts was on Monday formed to lead investigations into Saturday evening’s twin blast in Mtwapa and Mombasa that left a man dead and 30 people in hospital with injuries.
Head of Anti-Terrorism Unit Njeru Mwaniki on Monday visited the prayer rally site in Mtwapa and the View Stadium Bar and Restaurant, which were hit by the explosions that the government has since linked to Al -Shabaab, the Somalia-based terror group.
Mr Mwaniki later went to the Coast provincial police headquarters where he met provincial police bosses.
“It is during this meeting that the special team was formed with the specific mandate to track down those behind the explosions and have them brought to book,” a police source told the Nation.
The move came even as the officers remained tight-lipped on whether any arrests had been made.
Both the ATPU officers and their regular police counterparts declined to comment on the matter.
Coast Provincial Police Officer Aggrey Adoli denied that any arrest had been made so far, emphasising, however, that investigations were in top gear.
Initial investigations
Kilifi police boss Clement Wangai, whose officers handled initial investigations, said he was not aware of any arrests and denied reports by a section of the media that three suspects had been nabbed.
“I am not aware of any arrests. My department has not arrested any suspect. You could probably check with the anti-terrorist department.
‘‘Maybe they did some arrests but they have not yet informed us,” he said.
Following the blasts, ballistic experts took samples from the sites at Mtwapa and View Stadium Bar and Restaurant in Tononoka area for further analysis to establish the types of explosives used.
However, police had said a hand-made bomb exploded at Tononoka while a grenade was hurled at a crusade in Mtwapa.
Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Internal Security minister George Saitoti, who visited the scenes after the blasts, blamed Al-Shaabab for the attacks.
Meanwhile, ODM on Monday demanded practical measures to stem insecurity in the country and bring to a stop further deaths through terrorism activities.
The party demanded to know how many suspected perpetrators of terrorism had been arrested and brought to justice since the Uhuru Park blast in 2010. A statement from Orange House signed by the party’s secretary general Anyang’ Nyong’o said Kenyans were feeling let down by the country’s intelligence and security outfits.
Demanding answers
“The following questions need to be answered urgently; how many people have been apprehended and brought before the courts of law to answer for the bombings and grenade attacks that date back to the rally in Uhuru Park in 2010?” posed the statement.
The party also wanted to know what concrete steps the security arm of government had taken in major towns to protect public places, where crowds gather.
The Orange party called for close involvement of the mayors of Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu in putting in place sound security systems through the enforcement of council regulations to improve lighting, access and movement of vehicles.
“Dark alleys and dingy houses are attractive environments for individual with criminal and dangerous intentions,” said the party statement, made in response to the spate of explosions linked to the Somalia-based networks.

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