Kindiki calls for help to arrest 35 terror suspects

Interior CS Kithure Kindiki before a Parliamentary Committee at the Continental House, Parliament, Nairobi. October 12, 2023. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

Interior CS Professor Kithure Kindiki has called on Kenyans to volunteer information that will lead to the arrest of 35 masterminds of terror attacks in Lamu County.

Kindiki said that the government has declared an all-out war on dangerously armed terrorists linked to the Alshabaab militants.

He said the militants bear the greatest responsibility for the atrocious murder of civilians and security personnel in Lamu and the General Boni Enclave.

According to Kindiki, numerous plots by the Alshaabab and its network have been uncovered and neutralized ahead of time.

However, there have been attacks which led to the brutal killing of innocent civilians and security personnel within the County and the Boni Enclave generally.

The 35 suspects being sought are connected with the placement of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) along the Lamu-Witu-Garsen Highway.

They are also linked with the cold-blooded murders of civilians at Lango la Simba, Witu, Mpeketoni, Juhudi, Salama, Hindi, and other areas; and the attack on the American Military Base at Manda Bay on January 5, 2020.

Kindiki said that the names and photographs of the suspects will be circulated in the mainstream print media and posted on official online platforms of the Interior Ministry and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) on October 18, 2023.

He ordered them to surrender to any Police Station within the Republic of Kenya immediately.

"A substantial cash reward is on offer to any person who provides credible information leading to the arrest of any of the suspects," said Kindiki.

He said that while the arrest or neutralization of these terrorists remains the most immediate objective, other measures and strategies have been put in place in the fight against terror in the country.