Police in Kenya arrest Mandera lodge caretaker suspected of aiding attackers

Bishaaro Hotel caretaker, Abdirahman Ali, in Mandera where 12 people were killed in a terror attack when he appeared in court on October 27, 2016. He was arrested on suspicion of aiding the attackers.

A court in Mandera on Thursday morning allowed officers from the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU) to hold for 10 days the caretaker of Bishaaro Hotel, where 12 people were killed in a terror attack on Tuesday.

According to an affidavit sworn by Police Constable Stephen Opondo, Abdirahman Ali, 21, who was arrested on October 25, is suspected to have aided the attackers.

In the affidavit, Constable Opondo stated that Mr Ali is suspected of engaging in organised criminal activities in Mandera Town.

“He is the caretaker of the lodge and, through credible intelligence, we believe he supported the terror attack at Bishaaro Hotel and Lodging leading to [the] murder of 12 and injury of 4,” states the affidavit.

It is alleged that Mr Ali did not sleep in the lodge on the fateful day, as he usually did, but he instead spent the night in a room 15 metres from the lodge, his usual place of work.