Kenya raises the threshold of attention for the danger of terrorist attacks, after yesterday morning two car bombs by a suicide commando in Kampala have caused as many strong explosions in the area of the Ugandan Parliament and the police station, causing 3 deaths and about thirty wounded.
The Minister of the Interior and National Security Fred Matiang'i has alerted the national police force and asked to intensify controls, also in light of an unfortunate and worrying episode, the escape of two dangerous terrorist suspects of Somali origin from the city prisons of Kamiti. For this serious fact, some prison guards have already been detained, while in addition to the hunt for the escapees, on whom there is a reward of about 500,000 euros, checkpoints have been set up at the main entrances to Nairobi.
Meanwhile, in a note issued by Government spokesman Cyrus Oguna, all citizens are asked to observe particular caution and report to the police any suspicious persons or movements in their areas of residence. "We urge citizens to be vigilant especially in places of high traffic and assembly - said Oguna - and to promptly report any suspicious character, behavior, movement or unattended parcel to police officers or the nearest station."
In reality, these are preventive measures that cannot be directly linked to the Kampala attack, for which the Ugandan police spokesman has called into question the ADF, an armed group active in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo that the United States has recently linked to Islamic extremism and that has already been accused in the past of violent episodes in Uganda.
Kenyan national police spokesman Bruno Shioso confirmed that Kenya has stepped up operations and security since the Kampala blasts.
"We are in a state of attention, also because of the risk that the perpetrators of the attacks in Uganda may break into our country, checking that no one is planning such criminal operations in Kenta - said Shioso - we have reinforced controls at all levels."