Security officers were on Tuesday night able to locate a house where one of the suspected Riverside terrorists who staged the 14 Riverside attack was staying.
Detectives say they were able to unravel the terrorist's 'hideout' at Guango Estate in Muchatha, Kiambu after a neighbour's tip-off.
The neighbour identified the Toyota Ractis abandoned by the suspects at the Dusit D2 Hotel during the attack, as he recalled seeing it being used by the suspect.
This led to detectives raiding the house where they recovered arms and explosives stashed in a hole inside the house.
But the big question is, how was one of the terrorists able to live in an upscale Kiambu Estate for over four months where he was reportedly paying Sh40,000 per month, without anybody noticing anything unusual?
Below are three observations.
1. Nyumba Kumi Initiative failure
Frankly speaking, it is an open secret that the Nyumba Kumi Initiative only comes to play immediately after a fatal incident occurs anywhere in the country. Before then, it is all about fancy, laxity and mediocrity that many can't simply help falling victims of. It is a catastrophic failure!
2. Don't care attitude
In Kiambu and other parts of the country, residents have a fallacy that one should only care about their 'business(es)'. It, therefore, makes it very hard for people staying in the same neighbourhood to realise, guess or even come close to knowing that among them rests a criminal.
3. Landlords' insatiable appetite for tenants and money
In the advent of frequent cases of terrorism in Kenya today, it is a requirement for all landlords anywhere in Kenya to do a thorough vetting of their tenants just in case they decide to go rogue in future.
Unfortunately, this seemingly is a backseat factor among many landlords as long as money is available on demand.
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