Police name Dusit suicide bomber: Mahir Khalid Rizik

Police have identified the man who blew himself up on Tuesday during the Dusit terror attack which left 21 people dead.

They revealed the identity of the suicide bomber as 25-year-old Al-Shabaab operative, Mahir Khalid Riziki.

According to the police, Mahir, who was born and brought up in Mombasa, is believed to have sneaked back into the country on January 13 from Somalia, where he had been undergoing training since 2018.

KIAMBU

Upon returning, he connected with Ali Salim Gichunge, alias Farouk, in Muchatha, in Kiambu County.

Police believe the suspect was radicalised by an Al-Shabaab militant known as Ramadhan Hamisi, who is said to be in Somalia.

The Anti-Terrorism Police Unit said they had established that Mahir has been previously involved in attacks that mainly targeted security forces and has previously travelled to Somalia.

CCTV footage from the scene showed the terrorist walking outside a manicured lawn before he blew himself up outside Secret Gardens restaurant at 3.05pm.

According to police reports, the suicide bomber killed six people at the restaurant.

Police also believe Mahir arrived at the complex and stayed at a hotel room from where he walked down to the crime scene while in communication with his fellow attackers who shot their way in.

Six suspects linked to the attack were on Friday arraigned and the police were allowed to detain five of them for 30 days as investigation continue.