Deputy President William Ruto confirms Mombasa terrorists were out on bond

Deputy President William Ruto addresses the Press outside his Harambee House office yesterday. With him from left are: Inspector General of Police David Kimaiyo, Cabinet Secretaries Joseph ole Lenku (Interior) and James Macharia (Health), National Intelligence Service Director General Michael Gichangi and other officials. [PHOTO: GOVEDI ASUTSA/STANDARD]

By MACHUA KOINANGE and CYRUS OMBATI

Kenya: Deputy President William Ruto has criticised the courts for giving terror suspects bail even as police face the new challenge posed by easily available bomb-making material.

The Standard exclusively revealed yesterday that the late Jamal Mohamed Awadh and Suleiman Mohammed Sayyed, two of the suspected terrorists behind the attack on a bus in Mombasa last Saturday, had previously been arrested by police in a raid on the Musa Mosque in February, Ruto said

The two were out on bond and their families confirmed they both died on Saturday in the attack in Mombasa.

The terrorists are using cheap motor vehicle ball bearings sold by car spare parts shops as well as nails from hardware stores to make their Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) more deadly.

Bomb experts told The Standard they had established a pattern in their use in the attacks on two public service vehicles on Thika Superhighway in Nairobi and the Mombasa attack as well as a recent explosion at an eatery in Eastleigh, Nairobi.

Yesterday, Ruto asked magistrates and judges to be “strong partners” in the war on terror, saying some suspects linked to recent blasts had been freed on bond. 

“We call on the Judiciary to be a strong partner in the war against terror. We call on all players in the justice, law and order sector to stand with Kenyans,” Ruto said.

“Security is our collective responsibility,” said the DP, adding: “What we are witnessing now is a terror group on the run. This is a group that is desperate. It is our responsibility to take the war to them.”

Suspects re-arrested

A judge recently blamed the liberal Constitution of Kenya 2010 and laws that allow terror and capital offence suspects to be granted bail by the courts.

The Prevention of Terrorism Act, however, provides that terror suspects can be detained beyond 24 hours with the authority of the courts, if police prove it is necessary.

Yesterday, Ruto said records indicate that many terror suspects that jumped bail were linked to recent bloody campaigns of terror.

He also named Fuad Abubakar Maswab, who is believed to have fled to Somalia while out on a Sh10 million bond and his co-accused Jermaine John Grant who had been re-arrested while in possession of explosives.

“Those who have fled to Somalia intend to continue their terror activities. While they are abroad, the cases against them cannot proceed, seriously impairing the quest for justice and law enforcement,” Ruto said.

At least 22 terror suspects are reported to be out on bond.

The DP spoke during a press briefing after meeting security chiefs in his Nairobi office in the wake of terror attacks in Nairobi and Mombasa.

Meanwhile, The Standard learnt that IEDs placed in soft target areas, specifically public places, that have now become the weapon of choice for terrorists, have one hardware component for deadly impact: motor vehicle ball bearings. The parts retail at only Sh200 in used motor vehicle part outlets that easily place them in the hands of terrorists.

Human victims

Yesterday, Mombasa police said the IEDs detonated at a busy Mwembe Tayari bus station in Mombasa on Saturday were rigged with thousands of ball bearings to inflict maximum damage on its human victims in an explosion.

They also appear to point towards one bomb maker or training manual. The simultaneous blasts in buses on the Thika Superhighway, Nairobi on Sunday is a tactic favoured by Al-Qaeda’s Somalia affiliate Al-Shabaab.

Besides the ball bearings, nails and nuts, investigators also found traces of acetone, petrol and unidentified chemicals and liquids from the scene of the bus stage blast.

“The ball bearing weaponises an IED to another level,” an impeccable security official told The Standard.

“It is now the biggest headache because terrorists can buy the ball bearings for Sh200 in Gikomba or other second hand market places and added to the bomb material make an IED.”

When the IED explodes, the small pellets fly in different directions inflicting hot burns and severing limbs.

“Think of it like over 100 hot bullets discharged at the same time flying in different directions,” the security source says.

In the Sunday attack in Nairobi, three of the victims had their legs severed. Many other victims were maimed. “Used car parts sellers and dealers in second hand car parts should be suspicious of buyers who are buying large quantities of ball bearings,” he warned.

In addition, he advised matatu security personnel scanning boarding passengers that if their detector picks up anything inside a bag, they should insist on opening it to inspect the contents.

“If they open and find a contraption with ball bearings and a cellphone attached to it, they should know they have an IED,” said the source.

He said that in the case of the Sunday attack in Nairobi, he believed the suspects boarded the two matatus near the Khalsa/OTC terminus, and alighted before the Roasters Inn bus stop. The two IEDs were remotely activated using a cell phone, he says.

“The suspects planted the IED’s and alighted. Sadly nobody saw the IEDS on time.”

Blackmail state

Yesterday, DP Ruto urged the public to be vigilant and help security agencies with information.

“It is not an opportunity for finger pointing. All of us have a responsibility for ensuring our safety at large. We are on top of the situation and all you are seeing are kicks of a dying horse,” said Ruto.

Five drivers and conductors of the two buses attacked in Nairobi on Sunday were arrested and will take a plea today for failing to stop the attack.

They were detained at Kasarani police station where they were questioned for failing to screen passengers and luggage. 

Ruto spoke a day after two blasts that killed three people and left 86 others injured on Sunday evening on two buses along Thika Road in Nairobi.

“The Government will not allow terrorists to dictate or blackmail us into changing our local or foreign policy. We will not withdraw until Somalia has a stable and secure government free from terror,” Ruto said.

Present was Inspector General of Police David Kimaiyo, Director General of National Intelligence Service Michael Gichangi, head of civil service Joseph Kinyua, Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph ole Lenku and health’s James Macharia.