I’m innocent, student on police terror list says
A man who has been listed by police as a suspect in the planning of terrorist attacks in the country has disassociated himself with the crime.
Saladh Tari Gufu, 25, says he now fears for his life. He says since the list was released, he has been unable to leave their home in Buruburu for fear of being killed or taken away by police.
“I am not involved in any terror activities and I’m not armed like the police are saying. I am a student at the Moi University and I just completed my attachment waiting to resume my studies in September after the elections,” Mr Saladh said.
SH2 MILLION BOUNTY
Police had placed a Sh2 million bounty on Saladh, in the statement released on Wednesday and described him as a recruiter and a facilitator of terror network.
They also said that he was out of the country and that his brother was trying to help him sneak back into the country, an allegation that he denied.
But on Thursday morning, Saladh said that he had reported at a police station the Nation would not disclose for his safety and said he would later go to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Headquarters along Kiambu Road to set the record straight.
“I am a 4th year student pursuing a bachelor’s degree in the faculty of education in Moi University (main campus), I am being suspected for a crime that I am not even capable of…. Saladh wasn’t, isn’t and won’t be a terrorist,” he said in a post he made on Facebook.
PROPAGATE JIHAD
In their statement, police had said that Saladh had opened a studio within Marsait market where he secretly sold VCDs and DVDs of radical sheikhs who propagate Jihad.
“He is also affiliated to Mohammed Abdi Ali aka Abu Fidaa, an online ISIL/ ISIS recruiter. Abu Fidaa was arrested before he could launch an Anthrax attack in Kenya in 2016,” the statement sent to all newsrooms by the police indicated.
Mr Saladh asked the police to hear his story, saying he feared being victimized or killed.
Asked whether he knew the reason he was being accused, Saladh said he may have been set up by people he did not know.
On his controversial social media posts circulated widely on Facebook, Saladh said he did not even know when they were made.
“The posts were made in 2013, when I had just cleared Form Four. I am ready to explain these to the police and I hope they listen to me. I will provide all the information they need because I am sure I am innocent.” he said.
