Al Shabaab terrorist not in Uganda - Army
Mar 24, 2010
SECURITY agencies yesterday dismissed reports that Hashi Hussein Farah, a terror suspect who disappeared from police custody in the Kenyan border town of Busia, is in Uganda.
SECURITY agencies yesterday dismissed reports that Hashi Hussein Farah, a terror suspect who disappeared from police custody in the Kenyan border town of Busia, is in Uganda, reports Steven Candia.
Farah, who holds an Australian passport, is alleged to have links with the al Shabaab in Somalia and al-Qaeda. Army spokesman Lt. Col. Felix Kulayigye yesterday said security intelligence indicates that the man is not in Uganda.
“He crossed into Kenya from Uganda through the proper procedures and what happened to him after that, we don’t know. But all we know is that he is no longer in the country (Uganda),†Kulayigye said.
He acknowledged that prior to his arrest in Busia, Farah had lived in Uganda for more than a year. He wondered why their Kenyan counter parts did not alert them.
“For more than a year this man had been living in Uganda and we did not have that kind of information on him. If what is coming out is true, why didn’t our Kenyan brothers notify us in time?
What happened to our information sharing arrangements?†he asked.
Farah, he said, had been in Uganda since February 2009 until he left for Kenya where he was arrested and later vanished.
Three Kenyan police officers have since been suspended, and two businessmen, who had visited the suspect, were charged with helping him escape, according to the Kenyan media.
The police officers who were on duty at the time the terror suspect disappeared from custody are still under investigation. The terror suspect reportedly claimed that he was asthmatic and was put in an isolated room where he met the two businessmen, who had brought him food.
The police found Farah missing when they went to fetch him so he could be transferred to Nairobi for interrogation by anti-terrorism unit officers.
But Kenyan police spokesman Eric Kiraithe was quoted saying the suspect was released because the police officers mistakenly believed that he was just an illegal immigrant. Kiraithe said officials checking his details found him on an international terrorism watch list.
“I think there was an oversight. He was handed over to the ordinary duty policemen and they were not given the full information,†he told BBC Focus on Africa.
Farah reassured the police that he would appear in court for an immigration hearing, and was set free. Kiraithe said this was a huge embarrassment for the Kenya police.
The suspect, who is said to be of Somali origin, was detained while crossing the border into Kenya from Uganda on March 13. At the time of his arrest, he had a Ksh7m bounty on him.
He is wanted for planning an attack in Australia in 2009. Last year, Somalis were arrested in Melbourne amid reports they had links to al-Shabaab and were planning attacks in Australia.
Farah, who holds an Australian passport, is alleged to have links with the al Shabaab in Somalia and al-Qaeda. Army spokesman Lt. Col. Felix Kulayigye yesterday said security intelligence indicates that the man is not in Uganda.
“He crossed into Kenya from Uganda through the proper procedures and what happened to him after that, we don’t know. But all we know is that he is no longer in the country (Uganda),†Kulayigye said.
He acknowledged that prior to his arrest in Busia, Farah had lived in Uganda for more than a year. He wondered why their Kenyan counter parts did not alert them.
“For more than a year this man had been living in Uganda and we did not have that kind of information on him. If what is coming out is true, why didn’t our Kenyan brothers notify us in time?
What happened to our information sharing arrangements?†he asked.
Farah, he said, had been in Uganda since February 2009 until he left for Kenya where he was arrested and later vanished.
Three Kenyan police officers have since been suspended, and two businessmen, who had visited the suspect, were charged with helping him escape, according to the Kenyan media.
The police officers who were on duty at the time the terror suspect disappeared from custody are still under investigation. The terror suspect reportedly claimed that he was asthmatic and was put in an isolated room where he met the two businessmen, who had brought him food.
The police found Farah missing when they went to fetch him so he could be transferred to Nairobi for interrogation by anti-terrorism unit officers.
But Kenyan police spokesman Eric Kiraithe was quoted saying the suspect was released because the police officers mistakenly believed that he was just an illegal immigrant. Kiraithe said officials checking his details found him on an international terrorism watch list.
“I think there was an oversight. He was handed over to the ordinary duty policemen and they were not given the full information,†he told BBC Focus on Africa.
Farah reassured the police that he would appear in court for an immigration hearing, and was set free. Kiraithe said this was a huge embarrassment for the Kenya police.
The suspect, who is said to be of Somali origin, was detained while crossing the border into Kenya from Uganda on March 13. At the time of his arrest, he had a Ksh7m bounty on him.
He is wanted for planning an attack in Australia in 2009. Last year, Somalis were arrested in Melbourne amid reports they had links to al-Shabaab and were planning attacks in Australia.