Kenyan Police Arrest Governor Timamy On Attacks

The Governor of the coastal Lamu County, Issa Timamy, has been arrested over connection with the series of gun attacks in the Coastal Town, Mpeketoni, by the Kenyan Police.


Governor Issa Timamy was arrested late Wednesday over the Mpeketoni and Kibaoni killings that claimed nearly 60 lives.

President Uhuru Kenyatta has dismissed Al-Shabab’s being responsible for the attack but blamed “local political networks” for the violence. Though, opposition parties have derided Mr Kenyatta’s claims.

Timamy had been in Nairobi for a meeting with the Deputy President Ruto, before he flew back to Lamu, where he was summoned for questioning and later detained.

The head of the Kenya Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Ndegwa Muhoro, said that the Governor is in custody and Timamy was due in Mombasa court on Thursday. “There are various charges lined up for him that are related to the attack”, he said.

Police, on Wednesday also arrested 13 alleged separatists suspected of planning more attacks in the country’s coastal region, while three others have also been charged in connection with the killings, including a police officer, the owner and driver of a vehicle used by the attackers, and a suspect accused of running fake Shebab social media accounts.

In a statement, the Interior Ministry said that those arrested were suspected of plotting “ethnic cleansing” attacks and were members of the Mombasa Republican Council (MRC), a coastal separatist group.