| Front Page |
Suspected Terrorist Vanished From Home, Says Father
Wednesday, August 6, 2003 (East African Standard)
The suspected terrorist who detonated a hand grenade last Friday killing himself and one policeman disappeared from home a year ago.
His father Mr Ali Noor Deri told the police that his family has not been in contact with his son since his disappearance.
Police sources say the deceased, who was identified as Feisal Ali, was out of the country and only came back recently.
Deri said his son escaped from their family house in Kaloleni a year ago and that no family member has been able to trace his whereabouts and the Friday incident was a shock to them.
He told the police that he knew nothing about his son’s connection with the al-Qaeda network and was shocked to see and hear this in the media.
Senior police sources confirmed to the East African Standard that Deri, a Mombasa businessman, was questioned for the better part of Monday and yesterday morning.
The sources said the family of the deceased was not in contact with him after he left home for no apparent reason.
"He saw his son for the first time on television after one year and he told us he was shocked," said the police source.
"The family says they were shocked to see their son being referred to as a terrorist on television with serious injuries on both legs," said the source.
Ali was said to be in good health during his arrest, according to police. "He had Sh10,000 and he looked healthy and well to do," said the police sources.
They said investigations are still on-going and several other family members would be questioned.
Meanwhile, the suspect who was flown to Nairobi from Mombasa regarding his connection to the deceased and al-Qaeda is said to be giving the police vital leads.
"He is giving very vital information and soon, we shall be able to establish the truth," said the source. The suspect was arrested moments before his accomplice detonated a hand grenade as he was being escorted to the provincial police headquarters for questioning.
"They were in the same group and so he will soon tell us the connections and operations of the deceased," said the source.
The Deri family is waiting for a post-mortem on the deceased before they can take the body for burial.
The body has been lying at the Coast General Hospital for five days now under tight guard.
Meanwhile, a suspected terrorist who was arrested in Busia on Sunday was ranked number 15 on the list of 17 other alleged terrorists wanted by the Government.
The suspect was among the 17 others in the country whose names had been released together with their photographs by Police Headquarters on the Terrorists Watch List Update.
The 38-year-old suspect of Somali origin who was born in Mogadishu in Somalia was identified by the police as Mr Aldahir Ahmed Hashi.
Home | Contact us | Links | Archives