Knife gangs take over Old Town

Criminals have turned Mombasa’s Old Town district into a no-go zone for tourists and other visitors.

Buyers cannot venture into narrow streets of the ancient town, hurting business in the area.

Tuk-tuk drivers say places such as Kuze, Mkanyageni and Mlango wa Papa near the Old Port are the most dangerous.

“Those are areas we dare not go any time of the day. Youths can drag and knife you in the full glare of the public and vanish in the narrow alleys,” said one driver, who declined to be identified.

Police seem to have been outsmarted by the gang, whose members carry guns and knives.

They blame residents for harbouring criminals and withholding information regarding criminals who have killed security officers, their associates and friends.

Coast Regional Police Commander Robert Kitur said it is difficult for the security apparatus to apprehend the criminals, who wear religious attire to disguise themselves.

RECOVERED WEAPONS

On Tuesday, police said detectives were interrogating a youth suspected to be an Al-Shabaab recruiter in Old Town and Majengo.

Jamal Ahmed Abubakar was arrested on Sunday night during a crackdown in Old Town. Mr Kitur said the suspect had a pending assault case.

“After searching his house, we recovered crude weapons including knives, three buibuis and hijabs (veils).

“We believe he was being used or has been used by associates of prominent people to cause mayhem in Old Town and Majengo.”

Investigations were ongoing to establish the suspect’s associates and whether or not he was connected to the murder of an intelligence officer last week.

Mr Kitur said the man was suspected to be behind a series of gun attacks in the county. “We are holding him for investigation before we take him to court.”

County Commissioner Nelson Marwa said buibuis should not be misused in committing crimes. He urged religious leaders to condemn the use of the religious clothes in crime.

“The leaders are very quiet, but don’t think the government is silent and stupid,” he said.

BILLBOARD ERECTED

On Tuesday, a section of Mombasa residents urged people harbouring suspects to reveal their identities to the police.

This is after Inspector-General of Police Joseph Boinnet ordered for the erection a billboard with photographs of “most wanted” terrorism suspects.

Police erected the billboard at the Likoni Channel on Monday night.

“Our motive is to encourage the community to assist us in identifying those terrorists,” Mr Kitur said. “We need to smoke them out.”

The board with the Kenya Police Service coat of arms displays pictures of nine terrorism suspects, including Ahmed Mueller, a German national who escaped during the attempted attack on Baure camp, Lamu County.

It is situated on the island side of the Likoni channel, attracting a attention at the busy crossing point.

The pictures are among 38 photographs that were published by the government last month.

“Displaying the images is the best way catch them (suspects) but the only problem is that some people fear to give out information.

“The residents know them. They are our families, neighbours and friends,” said a Likoni resident.

On June 19, photographs of 38 Al-Shabaab terrorists believed to have taken part in the abortive raid on a military camp in Lamu were released.

The Interior ministry said they belonged to Jeshi la Ayman, an Al-Shaabab affiliate that operates in Boni Forest on the Kenya-Somalia border.

Earlier, the government had placed a bounty of Sh10 million on Andreas Martin Muller alias Ahmed Khalid, the German national, who is believed to have been among the attackers.

The Anti-Terrorism Police Unit, the army and the National Intelligence Service have joined forces in the search for Muller and other Al-Shabaab suspects.

The foreigner uses several aliases, including Andreas, Ahmed Khaled, Muller Martin Muller and Abu Nusaibah.

He was reportedly seconded to Al-Shabaab by Al-Qaeda in Pakistan in 2011.