KDF officer claim terrorists tried to infiltrate highly guarded army base

[My 125]

Updated Friday, June 15 2012
at 22:01 GMT+3
By JUMA KWAYERA
Anti-terrorism police are
investigating dramatic claims of
an Al Shabaab attempt to hit at
the heart of the Kenya Defence
Forces in the early weeks of
‘Operation Linda Nchi’. This
follows the report of a bizarre
plot by a junior army soldier
accused of desertion.
Police officers who have
listened to his tale are unsure
whether it is true or whether it
is a cock-and-bull story from a
troubled young soldier unhappy
with his job.
When contacted for comment,
the Department of Defence
denied receiving any report
about unauthorised people
entering a KDF facility. DoD,
however, confirmed it was
aware of the ATPU’s
involvement in the matter.
Senior Private Benson Maina
spilled the beans two weeks ago
in an exclusive interview with
The Standard On Saturday. At
the runaway soldier’s request,
two officers from the Anti-
Terrorism Police Unit sat in on
the interview.
Maina says he was blackmailed
into several meetings with
alleged terrorists that wanted to
infiltrate one of the country’s
security installations. He says he
first met them inside a secure
facility that they had succeeded
in entering unchallenged in
January.
According to the junior officer,
the men seemed interested in
the sabotage of newly acquired
aircraft. He says the terrorists
wanted to limit the
effectiveness of Kenya’s air
attacks, which were having a
punishing effect on the
insurgents.
The alleged incident took place
three months after Kenya’s
military tanks entered Somalia in
“hot pursuit” of the Al Qaeda-
linked group. This was about the
same time another failed Al
Shabaab plot to assassinate two
Kenyan officials disclosed by the
Internal Security ministry. No
arrests have been made in both
cases.
When told about the claims,
Defence Assistance Minister
David Musila expressed shock.
His Internal Security counterpart
Orwa Ojode, who recently died
in an unexplained Kenya Police
helicopter crash, termed the
affair “dangerous”. The army,
on the other hand, says this is a
case of an officer facing
disciplinary measures making
things worse with his
dangerous lies.
“We are treating this case as one
of gross indiscipline,” says DoD
public affairs officer Capt
Thomas Mwanga. “His
allegations can only jeopardise
the reputation of KDF as they
lack material evidence.”
The Senior Private claims he
prevented two suspected
terrorists from accessing an
installation in Embakasi housing
the Kenya Army’s 50th Air
Calvary Batallion. He says the
incident took place on the night
of January 12, just before he
fled his workplace in mysterious
circumstances.
The Kenya Air Force has its main
fighter base in Nanyuki and its
main transport base (Moi) at
Eastleigh in Nairobi. It also has
forward operating bases in
Wajir, Mandera and Nyeri. The
army, on the other hand, relies
on the Embakasi-based 50th ACB
for direct anti-tank air support
and reconnaissance.
Like the rest of the defence
forces, 50th ACB has been
undergoing significant
expansion in recent years, with
the acquisition of Russian Mi-28
and Chinese ZW9E attack
helicopters, among other
equipment. About a year before
the alleged incident, it received
Ulan Ude Mi-171 attack
helicopters from Russian state
owned corporation
Rosoboronexport.
These choppers were involved
in the action in Somalia. The base
also received Russian-made
Kamov 50 Hokum helicopter
gunships last year and houses
French-made Rafale fighter jets,
both of which have been used
in Somalia. Destroying any of
this equipment would have set
back Operation Linda Nchi.
In his statement to the ATPU,
Maina claims to have foiled an
attempt by two people to enter
the secure facility at Embakasi.
This allegedly set off began a
series of odd encounters that
escalated to a kidnapping on
Nairobi’s Moi Avenue in
February.
source:standard Digital