Five suspects have been arrested following the interception of a passenger bus carrying a concealed package of explosives along the Kanyonyoo–Embu Highway.
The arrests were made after a multi-agency security team on routine patrol conducted a thorough search of a Meru-bound bus from Mombasa. Officers uncovered a suspicious medium-sized white carton branded with Lato Milk logos. Inside the package were ten water gel explosives labeled Explogel V6, one detonating cord, and two Ideal electric detonators.
The bus was immediately escorted to Kanyonyo Police Station, where the driver, Lawrance Kioko Mutuku, and the conductor, Said Rashid Amour, were detained for questioning.
Investigations led detectives from the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU) and Bomb Disposal Unit (BDU) to Mundutsu village in Kakamega County, where they arrested Brenda Imboyanga Makhulungu. Brenda, the registered sender of the package, had falsely declared the contents as “Dawa ya Maji” at Tahmeed’s Kakamega booking office. According to police, she had masterminded the transportation route from Kakamega to Mombasa and eventually to Meru via Kitui.
The probe later expanded to Meru town, where two more suspects David Tindi Andala and John Kariuki Kung’u were apprehended in connection with the attempted transportation of the explosives.
Authorities say the arrests are significant in preventing what could have been a major security threat. The motive behind the movement of the explosives remains under investigation, and police have not ruled out links to organized criminal or extremist groups.
All five suspects are being held as investigations continue. The intercepted explosives and the bus remain in police custody as exhibits.
