Kisumu County Police Commander, Samuel Anampiu, has revealed that language barrier has posed a challenge in the ongoing investigations of five Pakistan nationals who were arrested in Kisumu, on Sunday.
The foreigners were nabbed following a crackdown conducted by a multi-agency team comprising of the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU) and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), following intelligence reports that allegedly linked them to acts of terrorism.
The Police Boss said they will involve an interpreter to help in interrogating the terror suspects before they are arraigned in court and charged.
The suspects were in possession of Pakistan passports and were reported to have been in the country for a long period.
They were tracked by the ATPU following their suspicious activities in the Country and are currently detained in Kisumu.
The Regional Immigration Boss, Tom Anyim, said police have up to 24 hours after arresting the accused to produce them in court and press charges on them.
“Police may arraign the suspects in court and charge them with terrorism and request for more time to investigate the case to conclusion. They will also be required to involve the Immigration Department to ascertain whether the passports are valid or not,” says Anyim.
Pending the investigations, the police, however, asked the public to treat the suspects as aliens.
They were suspected of entering the Country through the Kenya-Uganda border and were apprehended while traveling to an unknown destination using a public service vehicle.
By Robert Ojwang’
