Scare over 152 dummy bombs left behind by reckless British soldiers
Police in Nanyuki town, Laikipia County cordoned a building for 15 hours on suspicion that there were bombs in one of the rooms.
More than 40 tenants residing in the four-storey Gakui Building were evacuated on Friday night to await bomb experts on Saturday from Nyeri.
However it turned out the 152 pieces, each weighing 15 kilogrammes were dummies used by the British soldiers during training and had been sold as scrap metals to a dealer.
Outgoing County Police Commander Simon Kipkeu declared the building safe at 12pm on Saturday to the relief of the tenants who had been forced to seek alternative shelter for the night.
Several buildings nearby remained closed for the better part of the day.
“The scrap metal dealer has been keeping them since 2010 unable to get a market. It was not until recently a potential customer reported to the chief that someone was selling bombs,” said Mr Kipkeu.
The police boss later addressed anxious members of the public who had kept vigil near the building, giving assurance that the dummies cannot explode.
They were ferried to Nanyuki Police Station with the metal dealer who also operates a hardware shop for questioning.