Governor Ali Roba had warned of terror threat

Mandera Governor Ali Roba had warned security officers about the threat of terrorism ahead of Saturday’s bus attack that left 28 people dead.

In an interview with the Nation on Tuesday, Mr Roba said he was surprised to learn that a military base that had been established at Arabiya had been removed just weeks before the attack.

“We had shared reports from pastoralists of movement of armed groups and terror cells along the border,” Mr Roba said after accompanying Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua to Mandera.

He said pastoralists had reported seeing between 30 and 40 armed persons in the region days before the attack.

“Generally, they were moving in large numbers,” said Mr Roba. According to him, the decision to remove the military base was ill-advised.