Kenyan security agencies have beefed up security in parts of the country as it prepares to mark the sixth anniversary of the Garissa University terror attack.
The security alertness is aimed at defusing any plans by terror groups to attack Kenyans as they mark the day that saw 148 students killed in the dawn attack.
Even though there was no specific threat pointing to a planned attack, the agencies said they were on alert to avert such plans.
“ The terrorists like to strike such moments so we are on highest across the country to diffuse any form of plans, ” said a well-placed official aware of the plans.
This comes days after Police in Garissa intercepted eight AK47 rifles with more than 2,000 bullets in an operation.
Three suspects who were transporting eight AK7 rifles, 2,104 bullets and 20 litres of petrol along Baraki- Maalmin Road in Lagdera area, were intercepted after a four-hour chase on Monday.
Police termed the recovery a win in the war on terrorism and argued the weapons were to be used in an undisclosed terror mission.
“ The weapons are not Kenyan because they have not been registered in the country. The three suspects were all of Somali origin but had Kenyan identity cards.
“ They were identified as Nur Ibrahim Alaso Hadadob, the driver, Jimale Abey Mahamad Griftu and Abdirizack Mohamed Ali Elwak.
The mission they had is yet to be known, ” a source stated.
On the Garissa University attack, a court in 2019 sitting in Nairobi sentenced one man to life in prison and two others to 41 years for abetting the second deadliest attack in the country’s history.
“ The attack has taught Kenya a lesson, which includes devolving more response teams to various perceived hotspots. More specialized forces are also deployed at various places to respond to any form of threat,” the source added.
Three men found guilty of being members of the Al-Shabaab terror group and accomplices in the attack were given long prison sentences.
Rashid Charles Mberesero, a Tanzanian who represented himself before the court, was given life in prison, while Mohamed Ali Abdikadir and Hassan Aden Hassan, both Kenyan, were each sentenced to 41 years in prison.
The men were found to have been in constant telephone contact with four attackers before they rounded up students and faculty at the University in the early morning hours of the April 2, 2015, shooting.
Al-Shabaab has repeatedly attacked Kenya, including a raid on Westgate shopping centre in Nairobi in September 2013, when 67 people died in a four-day siege.
Al-Shabaab says it has been at war with Kenya ever since Kenyan forces entered Somalia in October 2011 in an effort to crush the militants.