Eight seized in piracy drama

The suspected pirates who were handed over to Kenya Port Police by British Navy officers. They were arrested as they tried to hijack a cargo ship. Photo/GIDEON MAUNDU.

What you need to know:

  • Group handed over to Kenya police after they were arrested trying to hijack ship

The British Navy on Tuesday handed over eight suspected Somali pirates arrested near Yemen last week to the Kenya Port Police.

The eight will appear in court this morning, according to sources.

It was not clear whether the RFA Wave Knight, which left immediately after handing over the suspects at Mombasa, also brought the bodies of three pirates killed during the engagement.

Hijacking spree

Ten Somali pirates arrested in January 2006 by US Marines after they attacked an Indian vessel off Somalia are serving seven-year prison sentences in Kenya.

Coast police boss King’ori Mwangi told journalists that seven AK-47 rifles, pistols and a missile launchers were recovered from the suspects.

“The oldest is 44 years, while the rest are in their 20s,” Mr Mwangi said.

Earlier, sources told the Nation that the pirates were captured on the high seas in Somali waters while pursuing a vessel.

The suspects were handed over a day after another vessel limped into port after being attacked by pirates. 

Barely three weeks after the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) deployed ships in the Indian Ocean off the Somalia coast, pirates have gone on a hijacking spree, capturing several ships in a short space of time.

Last week, gunmen hijacked a Chinese ship only a day after a chemical tanker was hijacked.

In Nairobi, the Government has warned Al-Shabaab insurgents to return two Italian nuns abducted in Mandera two weeks ago or face military action.

Internal Security minister George Saitoti issued the stern warning yesterday, saying that should they fail to release the nuns, Kenya would strike their bases.

Remain closed

“They also escaped with three Government vehicles after they raided Elwak township in Mandera District,” he said.

They militiamen fired a rocket propelled grenade at Elwak police post before raiding Elwak Catholic parish and traders in the area.

They also robbed two police officers of their uniforms.

Prof Saitoti said the militia had violated Kenya’s sovereignty. “We can’t allow this to happen… Kenya is an independent sovereign state,” he said.

“We will not sit back and watch as foreigners violate Kenyan laws,” he said.

Prof Saitoti said the Kenya-Somalia border will remain closed until order is restored.

Al-Shabaab, an Islamist guerrilla outfit with a base in Somalia’s Gedo region, recently threatened to wage war against Kenya for training Somalia’s police.

The minister said it is suspected that the insurgents are involved in the inter-clan fighting that has rocked North Eastern Province in recent months.

Warned residents

He said the Government will ensure that all militia were expelled from the country and warned residents to desist from harbouring the groups.

He said residents should not be afraid of security personnel in Mandera because they were only doing their duty.

“The army is there to protect the locals and we are not going to withdraw them,” he said. Residents should work with the army to flush out the insurgents,” he said.

He said the perennial conflict between the Murulle and Garre clans has been fanned by the militias who supply sophisticated weapons to the local residents.