Kisauni, the terror suspect hideout of Kenyan coast
Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho (left) and Changamwe MP Omar Mwinyi on September 9, 2016 carry the body of a boy shot by police officers on suspicion of carrying out terror activities. Kisauni is a hotspot for terrorists. PHOTO | KEVIN ODIT | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- About seven of them, described by police as “most wanted”, had their hideouts in Kisauni, also known for its knife-wielding teenage gangsters.
Kisauni Sub-County in Mombasa has gained the dubious distinction of hosting prime terror suspects.
About seven of them, described by police as “most wanted”, had their hideouts in Kisauni, also known for its knife-wielding teenage gangsters.
Some have been killed or jailed while others are on the run.
British terror suspect Jermaine Grant, who was jailed for nine years, was arrested in Mwandoni, Kisauni.
His associate, Samantha Lewthwaite, the “White Widow”, is on the run.
The house where Grant was arrested is about 100 metres from the one in which Ismail Mohammed Shosi was killed by police on Tuesday after a two-year hunt, following the killing of government officials and police officers.
The owner of the house, Fatuma Mohamed Masuo, widow of suspected Al-Qaeda operative Kassim Omollo, killed by police in 2013 in Mlaleo, Kisauni, escaped.
Shosi’s accomplice Hussein Said Omar alias Babli, a most wanted criminal with whom he shared a house in Mwandoni, is the younger brother of fugitive Ahmed Said Omar alias Dogo, and both are suspects in the 2014 Mpeketoni massacre.
In July, Kisauni MP Rashid Bedzimba’s relative Salim Hanjary was killed in Junda, Kisauni, by police, who said he was a dangerous terror suspect.
Mombasa politicians, among them Governor Hassan Ali Joho and Mr Bedzimba, described the killing as extra-judicial.
And on Tuesday, Coast Regional Coordinator Nelson Marwa wondered: “Why always Kisauni?”
