As police work tirelessly in order to nab suspects linked to DusitD2 terror attack, details have emerged indicating an assistant Imam administering teachings at a mosque in Mandera was in contact with one of the attackers.
Imam Mukhtar Ibrahim was alleged to have been in communication and facilitated transportation of one of the attackers to their target.
Mukhtar was arrested on Saturday, January 19, near Jaamia mosque in Mandera town with details indicating he had been training and radicalisng youths to join the Somalia based al-Shabaab militia group.
“The first respondent (Ibrahim) is believed to have communicated and facilitated the movement of one of the attackers at DusitD2 hotel from Mandera.
It is believed that he will aid investigators to narrow down on the identity and operation of the attackers,” said police Inspector Monicah Githaiga.
The detectives found calls logs from his phone which indicated he had been in constant communication with other people in Somalia. He was arrested alongside Isaak Hussein, an Ethiopian national who claimed to be his student.
The two were presented before Magistrate Martha Mutuku at Milimani Law Courts on Tuesday, January 22, alongside Salim Gichunge’s mother Sakina Mariam Abdalla and George Ndung’u. Mariam told the police she last communicated with her son in 2016 when he told her he had gotten a scholarship to study Islamic religion in Mogadishu, Somalia. She said they never spoke again and the last time she saw him was in the photos that were circulated on social media.
Apart from Ndung’u who was detained for 10 more days, the other suspects were held for 30 days to allow for conclusive investigations. Already, 10 people have been arrested and presented to court in relation to the attack.