Police have gunned down a suspected terrorist in Kwale County in a gun battle that has left an officer wounded.
Mohamed Rashid Mwatsumiro alias Modi was killed this morning at his home in Ngomeni after neighbours tipped police.
“…during the ensuing shootout, a corporal was injured and is currently receiving treatment in hospital,” the Directorate of Criminal Investigations said in a statement.
A loaded Glock Pistol and improvised explosive device-making materials were recovered in his house.
Police say Modi joined the terror group Al-Shabaab while in high school and rose through the ranks to head the 10-member Likoni terror cell.
By 2017, he was radicalising youth in Shika Adabu Likoni, preparing them to join Al-Shabaab in Somalia. A year later in 2018, he was training the recruits at Shimba Hills and facilitating their journey to Somalia.
Inspector-General of Police Hillary Mutyambai said the 30-year-old man had escaped their dragnet, recently in March.
“Security officers have been on the trail of Modi for several months and this is the culmination of the effort to track down the criminal,” he said.
He added that the killing of Modi was as a result of the ongoing operations in the Coast to flush out terror operatives and gangs holding the region hostage.
Crime exploits
Modi’s gang, which operates in Mombasa’s Likoni and Kwale’s Matuga and Ngombeni, is accused of being behind the recent spate of killings and robberies in the Coast.
Police say the gang killed two police officers in September 2017 at the Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK) in Diani. Two rifles (an AK47 and G3) were stolen from the officers.
Early this year, they attacked an Administration Police camp in Mtongwe.
In August 10, 2019, they are said to have beheaded Sheikh Ali Fumbwe and Hamisi Mwadondo in Ukunda.
“They are linked to the killing and burning of a Kenya Defense Forces navy officer’s in Likoni last month,” police added, saying Mpesa outlets and petrol stations were not spared during Modi’s reign.
