A 22-year-old woman has been arrested in Tinderet, Nandi County, over suspected dealings with terrorist group Al-Shabaab.
According to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the woman was arrested on Tuesday evening by officers from Soghor police station following a tip-off from concerned members of the public.
The woman, who was cohabiting with a man in Kamalambu village, appeared suspicious, police said.
After interrogation, police found out that the woman had interacted with members of the terror group from 2019 when she was allegedly kidnapped in Kilifi.
“The villagers’ fears were confirmed when during interrogation after being arrested, the woman told detectives that she had been in Somalia for two years after allegedly being kidnapped by members of the Alshabab terror network in Kilifi, in 2019,” DCI said on Wednesday.
Read: Suspected Terrorist Arrested After Offering Sh180K to Cop for Details on a Lang’ata Club
The suspect, DCI said, confessed to having been trained in weapon handling skills, hostage-taking and use of explosives among other skills.
The woman is said to have attended the recently concluded Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) recruitment exercise at different centers.
Anti Terror detectives have since taken over investigations into the matter and shall be grilling the suspect for more information.
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“DCI thanks the members of the public in Tinderet, Nandi county who volunteered information leading to the arrest of the suspect,” added DCI.
“This kind of mutual partnership between the public and police officers is highly encouraged since a secure nation is our collective responsibility. Should you have any information that you would wish to share with us anonymously, please dial 0800 722 203 and speak to our agents.”
Kenya has been on a high-security alert since last month when terror convicts escaped from the Kamiti Maximum Security Prison.
Read Also: Kamiti Escapees Admit Escaping Custody, Deny Committing Terror Act
Last week, Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i said that despite the three being recaptured, the government will remain on high alert.
“We are not out of the woods yet and I need to caution the public that we are in an unusual space because of what is happening around us. Please let us be very careful and watchful. This is the time to maintain a lot of care in what we do,” the CS said.
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