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Residents of Eastleigh arrested by police/FILE

Kenya

Police say three in custody over Eastleigh bus blast

Residents of Eastleigh arrested by police/FILE

NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 22 – Police are holding three suspects over the bus explosion in Eastleigh that killed 10 people on Sunday.

Nairobi Provincial Police Chief Moses Nyakwama said the suspects are Kenyans and are being interrogated as the hunt for the prime suspect intensifies.

“We are catching up with all the people who are behind the attacks. When the blast occurred we arrested suspects but most of them are ignorant people who are trained briefly and given ammunition. The implication is that there are people who train them and deploy them,” he said adding that the explosives used in most attacks are assembled within Kenya.

He insisted that detectives are closing in on the key suspect who placed luggage containing an improvised explosive device in the ill-fated mini bus before he fled.

Following the explosion, matatu operators have been urged to thoroughly screen passengers to guarantee safety.

“These blasts have helped us learn and we want the public to help us fight these crimes. Explosives that are planted in a vehicle are easily avoided by screening. So I am appealing to the operators to check and know that they know what their passengers are carrying,” he said insisting that Kenyans were appreciating the value of security screening.

Nyakwama has also urged operators of supermarkets and shopping malls to invest more scanning devices other than the usual metal detectors that he said were not very effective.

On Sunday, Nyakwama had said that there was probability that the improvised explosive device was planted in the vehicle and was detonated from a safe distance.

Meanwhile, 13 victims of the attack are still hospitalised at the Kenyatta National Hospital, 11 of who are in the emergency ward.

According to the hospital, one victim is in the orthopaedic ward while one is in the burns unit.

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Prime Minister Raila Odinga who had been out of the country was set to visit Eastleigh days after the area experienced xenophobic attacks following the explosion.

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