Nairobi News

The Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) is appealing to members of the public to share any information that may lead to the arrest of five al Shabaab terror suspects linked to the latest attacks in Lamu.

In a statement on Friday, DCI urged members of the public to come forward with any information that may lead to the arrest the suspects believed to be trained, armed, and dangerous.

According to the DCI, these individuals have been linked to several acts of terror that have occurred in the country in the past which has seen at least up to 10 people killed in the attacks this year alone, amid fears, there are more planned such incidents.

“The DCI is appealing to members of the public to volunteer information that may lead to the arrest of the following terror suspects, linked to the Alshabab terror network and responsible for the recent attacks in Lamu County,” the DCI statement read in part.

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“The suspects who are trained, armed and dangerous have been linked to several acts of terror that have occurred in the country in the past. Members of the public are asked to provide information that may lead to their arrest.”

WANTED TERROR SUSPECTS

The DCI is appealing to members of the public to volunteer information that may lead to the arrest of the following terror suspects, linked to the Alshabab terror network and responsible for the recent attacks in Lamu County. pic.twitter.com/l2GmwwiIvA

— DCI KENYA (@DCI_Kenya) January 13, 2023

The latest such incidents happened on the Bura-Garissa road where four Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) engineers were killed on Wednesday, January 11 after their vehicle hit an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) on the Lapsset road in Bura East, Tana River County.

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The five include Abdikadir Mohamed Abdikadir aka Ikrima who is believed to be a close associate of al Shabaab’s top leaders.

According to police, he is directly associated with the 2010 Kampala attack, Westgate and world Cup attacks in Uganda and Kenya.

He has previously travelled to Mombasa, Nairobi and North Eastern region.

He is a dual citizen of Somalia and Norway.

The second on the wanted list is Maalim Ayman, the head of the al Shabaab’s Jaysh Ayman wing that operates within the Lacta belt area.

He is responsible for attacks within the Boni enclave including the Baure and Mpeketoni attacks and the IEDs attacks along the routes within the LAPSSET corridor connecting Garissa and Lamu counties.

According to police, he is also linked to the Manda Bay Airfield attack of 2020 and the US government has set Sh1.2 billion bounty for information leading to his arrest.

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The third is Mohamud Abdi Aden aka Mohamed Yare, who also a Sh1,2 billion bounty and is believed to have led the attack on the dusitD2 hotel complex in Nairobi in 2019.

A resident of Garissa and Nairobi’s Fedha Estate before travelling to join al-Shabaab in 2013, he is also linked to the previous foiled attacks in the country before his arrest in 2014 for collecting information to facilitate attacks in Nairobi.

He was released from jail in 2017 and thereafter travelled back to Somalia to continue with terrorist activities, police say.

Then there is Ramadhan Kioko aka Pinji aka Abu Nuseiba who joined al Shabaab in 2008 and currently, he is a member of Jaysh Ayman group.

Born in Majengo in Nairobi, police believe he was recruited into violent extremism by Ahmed Iman, a former al Shabaab leader responsible for propaganda and recruitment of Kenyan youth from Majengo.

Police say he was part of the team that conducted attacks on the Baure security camp in June 2015 within Lamu.

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The fifth wanted suspect was identified as Abdullahi Bulati, aka Abdullahi Banati, aka Mustafa.

A commander of al Shabaab militants who are deployed to the expansive Boni forest that straddles Garissa and Lamu counties in Kenya and Somalia.

He hails from Ngumu Village within the Tana River, and he is linked with numerous criminal and terror activities, including poaching, and mining/supplying IEDs that are used to mine routes connecting Lamu and Garissa.

Police say he is armed, dangerous and believed to be behind the current al Shabaab activities within Ziwa La Taa, Pandanguo and Bodhei areas within Lamu.

DCI has set up a special hotline for members of the public to provide information. The hotline number is 0800 722 203/999.

The agency has assured the public that all information provided will be kept confidential and that callers remain anonymous.

The action follows the US State Department’s Sh1.2 billion reward announcement on Thursday for information leading to the arrest of the perpetrator of the 2019 Dusit D2 terror attack.

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