Mohammed Abdi Ali is now in custody of Kenya’s anti-terrorism police, and local courts have granted authorities the right to keep Ali in custody for 30 days while they conduct their investigation. Ali’s wife, who is a medical student in nearby Uganda, was also arrested on terrorism charges.
The Inspector General of the National Police Force, Joseph Boinnet, claims that “the suspects were planning large scale attacks akin to the Westgate Mall attack ( which cost 67 people their lives in September 2013) with the intention of killing innocent Kenyans.” Boinnet has hailed the arrests as a major breakthrough for the country, which has been struggling to contain a swelling tide of terrorist activity.
Apparently, the cell of would-be terrorists included medical experts who were planning to use anthrax to launch attacks against civilians. Anthrax is a rapidly spreading and lethal disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Until 1972, anthrax was officially a part of the United States’ weapon arsenal.
In April of 2015, Al-Shabab, an al-Qaida linked terrorist organization, successfully launched an attack on the Garissa University College, which ultimately cost the lives of 142 students, 3 soldiers, and 3 offices, as well as 5 attackers.
It is believed that hundreds of other Kenyan youth have joined al-Qaida, the Islamic State, and other extremist organizations. Roughly 11 percent of Kenyans are Muslims, while 83 percent are Christian.
Some human rights activists claim that the charges may be trumped up.
