Terrorism suspect needs to be found
Mar 25, 2010
HAD it not been for the arrest and trial of two Kenyan businessmen in the border town Busia, Uganda would never have known about the presence of a wanted international terrorist in the region.
HAD it not been for the arrest and trial of two Kenyan businessmen in the border town Busia, Uganda would never have known about the presence of a wanted international terrorist in the region.
The businessmen were charged with helping terrorist suspect Hashi Hussein Farah escape from Kenyan custody. Farah, an Australian of Somali origin, is believed to have links with hardline al Shabaab in Somalia.
According to Kenya’s Anti-Terrorism Police Unit, the suspect is wanted in Australia for planning suicide attacks on a Sydney army base in August last year.
Farah was arrested as he entered Kenya through the Ugandan border on March 13 but disappeared from custody hours later in what authorities now believe to be collusion with police officers. Three policemen have been suspended over the incident.
Kenyan police spokesman Eric Kiraithe admitted that Farah was released in the mistaken belief that he was just an illegal immigrant.
Yet, Kiraithe also said officials checking his details had found him to be on an international terrorism watch list.
Even more worrying is that the Ugandan Police and the UPDF learned about Farah’s escape from the media — one week after it happened. Army spokesman Felix Kulayigye also blamed Kenya for not informing them that the man, who had lived in Uganda for over a year, was a terrorism suspect.
“What happened to our information sharing agreements?†he wondered. Contrary to media reports, Kulayigye denied that the man is currently in Uganda.
The incident raises many questions. Why did Kenyan security not alert their Ugandan counterparts about the man’s disappearance?
How come Uganda does not have access to the international terrorism watch list Kenya has? And how does the army know for a fact that the suspect is not in Uganda? The matter is the more serious since Al Shabaab has recently threatened to attack Kampala.
Uganda and Kenya are like Siamese twins. Whatever happens to one affects the other.
They need to co-operate, not only in apprehending Farah, but also in sharing information on any terrorism suspect reported in the region.
The businessmen were charged with helping terrorist suspect Hashi Hussein Farah escape from Kenyan custody. Farah, an Australian of Somali origin, is believed to have links with hardline al Shabaab in Somalia.
According to Kenya’s Anti-Terrorism Police Unit, the suspect is wanted in Australia for planning suicide attacks on a Sydney army base in August last year.
Farah was arrested as he entered Kenya through the Ugandan border on March 13 but disappeared from custody hours later in what authorities now believe to be collusion with police officers. Three policemen have been suspended over the incident.
Kenyan police spokesman Eric Kiraithe admitted that Farah was released in the mistaken belief that he was just an illegal immigrant.
Yet, Kiraithe also said officials checking his details had found him to be on an international terrorism watch list.
Even more worrying is that the Ugandan Police and the UPDF learned about Farah’s escape from the media — one week after it happened. Army spokesman Felix Kulayigye also blamed Kenya for not informing them that the man, who had lived in Uganda for over a year, was a terrorism suspect.
“What happened to our information sharing agreements?†he wondered. Contrary to media reports, Kulayigye denied that the man is currently in Uganda.
The incident raises many questions. Why did Kenyan security not alert their Ugandan counterparts about the man’s disappearance?
How come Uganda does not have access to the international terrorism watch list Kenya has? And how does the army know for a fact that the suspect is not in Uganda? The matter is the more serious since Al Shabaab has recently threatened to attack Kampala.
Uganda and Kenya are like Siamese twins. Whatever happens to one affects the other.
They need to co-operate, not only in apprehending Farah, but also in sharing information on any terrorism suspect reported in the region.