Uganda: Deadly Terrorist Sneaks Into K'la

He is of Somali origin  : How he used bus from Kenya to Uganda

The police are looking for a terrorist, believed to be of Somali origin, who boarded a Kampala-bound bus from Nairobi, beat the border security at Busia, and sneaked into the country. According to the Inspector General of Police, Lt Gen Kale Kayihura, the suspect, whom he did not identify by name, is on Kenya's list of most wanted terrorists.The suspect's image has been plastered all over Nairobi city, with police imploring the public to report immediately if they see him."He was detected in a Kalita bus last week by one of the passengers since his photograph has been displayed in Nairobi city."This passenger took his photograph using a phone after seeing him getting out of the bus near the border point and then boarding it again after crossing the border," Kayihura said at a news conference yesterday.

Kayihura believes the bus driver and conductor connived with the suspect. Kalita Transporters Ltd is one of the largest bus companies in the country, owned by Patrick Lucky, a businessman based in Fort Portal. According to police, the suspect boarded bus registration number KBF 057N in Limuru town, 30 kilometres outside Nairobi.

The bus had just left the city at about 7am but suddenly stopped to pick this passenger, which was unusual.

"Before leaving Nairobi, the passengers were photographed, as is the routine before a bus takes off. [Thirty kilometres] out of Nairobi at Limuru village, the bus made an unscheduled stop and picked a male passenger," Kayihura said.

The passenger had a rucksack, arousing suspicion from other passengers. About three kilometres towards Busia border post, the passenger, who appeared uneasy throughout the journey, alighted. To avoid detection, it is believed, the suspect sneaked through a narrow path often used by smugglers to enter the country.

"The bus and the other passengers went through the routine immigration and customs checks at Busia boarder and then continued with their journey to Kampala," said Kayihura.But barely three kilometres after leaving the border post in Busia, the bus again stopped and the same passenger, who had alighted on the Kenyan side, was let in. When the bus approached the outskirts of Kampala, the same passenger wanted to alight, but according to an eyewitness, the conductor told him that he would be picked up by someone at a certain location in the city."We have reason to believe that this passenger, whose photograph was taken by a member of the public, is one of the wanted terrorists being looked for by security authorities in the region. We are working with the Kenyan authorities on establishing the identity and whereabouts of this individual," Kayihura said.According to security sources, the terror suspects who carried out an audacious attack in Kampala during the World Cup final on July 11, 2010 also ferried their bomb making equipment by bus from Nairobi. The manager of Kalita Transporters Ltd., Mike Asaba, said he wasn't aware that his company could have transported a terror suspect.However, he noted that as a bus company, they always adhere to stringent security measures before recruiting their workers."We ask for their passports," he said, before revealing the identities of the bus drivers who plied the Nairobi-Kampala route the day the suspect travelled.

Asaba gave the drivers' first names as Shaffiq and Ben. The conductor was indentified as Siati, a Kenyan of Somali origin, who recently asked for leave to return home for burial."We are so strict that when the bus reaches Nairobi, the manager in the bus goes with it to the washing bay and later the bus has to be checked by a metal detector upon return," Asaba said.Kayihura appealed to members of the public who may have seen the suspect, or know his whereabouts, to alert the police immediately. Police is planning to pin posters of his image all over the country. Since the Monday bomb blast in Nairobi that injured 30 people, Uganda has been placed on terror alert.Kayihura urged proprietors of hotels, night clubs, restaurants, entertainment centres, bars and show grounds to institute security measures or risk closure.

ADF's Mukulu Kayihura reiterated the ever present threat from international terrorist organisations such as al-Qaeda, which he said are working with Jamil Mukulu's Allied Democratic Forces (ADF).

"Terrorism is still high; we are a target of ADF, al-Shabab and al-Qaeda. Jamil Mukulu uses Ugandan passports and commits terrorism [acts] in the United Kingdom and Nairobi, where he has homes," Kayihura said.

The IGP threatened to go on hunger strike if Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) did not step up community policing measures.