Detectives have established that militants allied to Somali-based Al Shabab terror group had been deployed with the intention of launching attacks on Sunday, October 20.
It has been established that two suspects, Athuman Nyae and Bakari Chibonja were to attack Mombasa as the nation converged in the city to celebrate Mashujaa Day celebrations.
The suspects were nabbed by police in Dudus on October 1, with the police on Tuesday telling the court that they were in the process of planning an attack on key state installations.
The two, the police believe, are part of the group that was deployed to do the job as Kenyans celebrated a day set aside for the heroes of this country.
“It is believed that the suspects are members of Al-Shabaab terrorism group with a wide network of following and is believed to have sent operatives within Mombasa to attack key government installations,” Anti Terror Police Unit Investigator Dickson Ingaru said in a sworn affidavit.
He said that the two have been under police watch and are suspected to have engaged in many more terror crimes before, paving way for previous terror attacks.
Mr Ingaru claimed that the two and others not before court were nabbed with weapons and other merchandise like phones, which the police believe were to he used in the attack.
"Intelligence report shows that the accused persons and others who are still at large were planning a major attack during Mashujaa Day in Mombasa using the assorted weapons recovered from their residence in Dudus,” he added.
State Counsel Erick Masila told Mombasa Senior Principal Magistrate Rita Amwayi that the weapons as heavily destructive, and are being scrutinized by the law enforcers in Nairobi.
"The results which will be obtained from the forensic analysis of the items might reveal other suspects who are still at large and if the accused persons are released on bond, they will interfere with investigations,” he said.
The two pleaded not guilty, with the case set to be mentioned on November 11.