Foreigners “connected to terrorism”

Nine foreigners have been arrested in Kenya, who police say are connected to terrorist activities. Most of the suspects are Sudanese nationals and were arrested by the Special Crime Prevention Unit (SCPU). A spokesman from SCPU in Nairobi confirmed to IRIN that the nine foreigners had been arrested and were being held in custody. He said they were expected to be produced in court by the end of the week and would initially be charged with staying in Kenya illegally.

According to a state television report on 16 January, monitored by the BBC, they were arrested after a one-year investigation on NGOs run by “foreigners”. Head of the SCPU Peter Kavila said the suspects had been operating under the cover of two NGOs with roots in Sudan. One of the organisations dealt with “recruiting people from our country and taking them to Arabian countries, purportedly for employment” said Kavila in the broadcast. Detectives seized seven Sudanese passports, 10 Kenyan passports, three Comoron passports, two Eritrean passports, and one Ethiopian passport.