Teenager now denies planting explosives in bus

This bus plying the Mwiki route was rocked by an explosion at Roysambu underpass opposite Thika Road Mall. Photo\William Oeri

What you need to know:

  • Mr Dejene was charged with planting an explosive device in a bus resulting in the deaths of Mr Antony Mbaabu Miriti and Mr Antony Mugo Ng’ang’a on May 4. The two were aboard a Mwiki-bound minibus.

A suspect in the twin terrorist attacks on commuter buses on Nairobi’s Thika superhighway Wednesday recanted that he planted the explosives that killed two people.

Mr Warque Dejene Sar, 18, who had earlier admitted the charge, was arrested after police linked him to a SIM card recovered at the scene of one of the explosions.

Police believe the phone line was used in detonating the explosives in the buses. The prosecution said an accomplice identified as Mr Omar Molu, who holds a Kenyan ID, was still at large and was involved in the second explosion at the Roysambu underpass.

Mr Dejene was charged with planting an explosive device in a bus resulting in the deaths of Mr Antony Mbaabu Miriti and Mr Antony Mugo Ng’ang’a on May 4. The two were aboard a Mwiki-bound minibus.

The prosecution told the court that detectives found several items with traces of TNT, an explosive chemical, at Mr Dejene’s and his alleged accomplice’s homes at Kiamaiko slums in Huruma, Nairobi.

“The accused and his accomplice who is still at large were recruited by a Mr Mohammed Noor in 2010 to join Al-Shabaab, and they travelled to Mandera where they crossed into Somalia for training,” said the prosecution.

The hearing was set for July 3.