Al Shabaab is said to have intended to plant a bomb within Parliament buildings.
NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 27 – Police are holding an employee of Kenya’s Senate after he was named in an intelligence report for planning to facilitate attacks on Parliament buildings.
He was to allegedly aid the Al Qaeda linked Al-Shabaab militias in attacking Parliament.
The suspect is said be associated with Pumwani’s Riyadh mosque which has previously been linked to terror activities in the country.
“The group (Al-Shabaab) wants to use an operative who is affiliated to Pumwani Riyadh Mosque who is also a staff member at the Senate to actualise the attack,” reads a letter by the Central OCPD Paul Wanjama to the Officer commanding Parliament Police Station.
Al Shabaab is said to have intended to plant a bomb within Parliament buildings.
Wanjama’s letter is directed to Officer in Charge of Parliament’s Police Station, Samson Chelugo, who was ordered to take immediate action.
Police officers from the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations are said to have booked the suspect at the Kilimani Police Station on Sunday night where he is being questioned.
He is said to have worked in Parliament for more than eight years.
The staffer was named in the 2011 United Nations monitoring group on Eritrea and Somalia as being linked to terror activities, a move he protested.
Previously, there have been similar reports by police that Parliament remains a prime target of terrorists, which led to heightened security.
Other places mentioned in the intelligence report include Muthurwa market, Nairobi Pentecostal Church, Holy Family Basilica, St. Andrews PCEA church and the University of Nairobi.
“There is need to enhance security vigilance in the areas targeted by Al-Shabaab for attacks to neutralise the threat,” Wanjama emphasised.
A senior police officer privy to the investigation told Capital FM News that they will not take chances saying security around the buildings will be heightened.
The National Police Service has been on spot after it emerged that there were intelligence reports prior to Garissa University College attack that claimed 148 lives.
The apparent lapse led to suspension of senior administration and police officer in the region.
Interior CS Joseph Nkaissery said a preliminary probe by a team from the ministry had recommended the investigation of the officers to assess their culpability in responding to intelligence reports of a possible attack in the area and whether they disregarded the warning.
He pointed out that the suspensions will facilitate an independent investigation with the view of bringing to book all those who failed to act before the attack.
Police across the country have been ordered to be on high alert as the threat of terrorism remains imminent.
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