By Enyichukwu Enemanna
The United States has announced a bounty of $10 million to Kenya for information that will lead to the arrest of the mastermind of the 2019 terrorist attack on Nairobi’s Dusit D2 hotel complex which led to the killing of 21 people, including a US citizen, while 30 others sustained injuries.
The prime suspect, Mohamoud Abdi Aden is leader of the Somalia-based militant group al-Shabab. The US State Department officially designated him as a terrorist in October last year.
US Ambassador to Kenya Meg Whitman announced the reward offer, which is equivalent to more than 1.2 billion Kenya shillings on Thursday. She said the US is seeking information leading to Aden’s arrest and conviction in any country, plus information on anyone else involved in the Dusit D2 attack.
“We encourage anyone with information on those responsible for the attack to contact Rewards for Justice on Signal, Telegram or Whatsapp via Kenyan and Somali tip lines displayed on the posters,” Whitman said.
The US reward offer is the third of its kind in three months.
In November last year, the US offered $10 million for information leading to the capture of three al-Shabab leaders — Ahmed Diriye, Muhad Karate and Jehad Mostafa — alleged to be responsible for attacks in both Kenya and Somalia.
On January 5, the US issued a reward offer for information on Maalim Ayman, believed to have planned an attack on Kenya’s Manda Bay Airbase, which is utilized by the US armed forces for counterterrorism training.
Security analysts such as Daniel Omondi say the US rewards are signaling Washington’s proactive efforts to nab terrorists in Kenya.
“Especially after the 1998 bombing of the US embassies, the US must keep on being on the forefront to help, especially with surveillance and enhancing efforts with regards to collection of information, which is very, very key in preventing further attacks in the region,” Omondi said.
Kenya and the US have formed a multi-agency investigation unit to counter terrorism and share information to avert attacks. Authorities from both countries say the unit has been a success.
