Police deployed to Isiolo and Marsabit after Dusit terror attack

Inspect General of Police Joseph Boinett (left) and Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi address reporters in a past press briefing. [Photo: Standard]

Top national security officers are in Isiolo and Marsabit  to hunt down people  involved in the dusitD2 hotel terror attack.

Ali Salim Gichunge, who is one of the masterminds of the 14 Riverside Drive attack hails from Kulamawe estate in Isiolo town.

The officers, who arrived on Saturday are reportedly pursuing individuals linked to terror attacks in northern Kenya.

Mr Gichunge’s parents are said to be undergoing intense interrogation in Nairobi. His father is a sergeant with the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF).

Gichunge’s father was working at the Isiolo-based 78 Tank Battalion before he was transferred to DoD when his son sneaked into Somalia to join Al Shabaab.

With top security officers in both Isiolo and Marsabit being mum, a source at Anti-Terror Police told The Standard that their officers were on the ground "hunting for those who aided the terror in Nairobi".

Last Thursday, Isiolo County Criminal Investigation Officer Raphael Wawire said Gichunge’s mother had been ‘summoned’ and taken to DCI headquarters for questioning. The mother of five travelled with her firstborn daughter.

Gichunge attended Hekima Primary School and later 78 Barracks Primary and Secondary School. He later moved to Thuura and Kibirichia Boys schools for his secondary education. At Primary school examination, he scored an impressive 357 marks and a C+ at O' level.

He was reportedly ‘radicalised’ and travelled to Nairobi, Mombasa, Garissa and Kampala in Uganda.