Two men from Kitui County are among five suspects arrested following multi-agency security operation intercepted a Meru-bound passenger bus loaded with high-grade explosives.
The dramatic arrest unfolded along the Kanyonyoo–Embu Highway when officers on routine patrol stopped a long-distance bus traveling from Mombasa towards Meru. A thorough search led to the discovery of a suspicious white carton, deceptively branded with LATO Milk logos. What lay inside was far from dairy: ten water gel explosives marked EXPLOGEL V6, a detonating cord, and two IDEAL electric detonators—components that could have caused untold devastation.
The bus was immediately escorted to Kanyonyoo Police Station, where the driver, Lawrance Kioko Mutuku, and his conductor, Said Rashid Amour, both residents of Kitui, were taken into custody. Their arrest has raised fresh concerns about the county’s potential link in what authorities believe could be a wider network of terror trafficking.
Acting swiftly, elite units from the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU) and Bomb Disposal Unit (BDU) traced the origin of the deadly package to Brenda Imboyanga Makhulungu, a woman arrested in Mundutsu village, Kakamega County. Investigators revealed that Brenda had registered the package at Tahmeed’s Kakamega office, falsely declaring the contents as “Dawa ya Maji” (water treatment chemicals). The parcel was then ferried from Kakamega to Mombasa, before being loaded onto the Meru-bound bus via a Kitui connection.
The dragnet widened in Meru, where two more suspects—David Tindi Andala and John Kariuki Kung’u—were arrested, further deepening the complexity of the investigation. Sources close to the probe say detectives are now exploring whether the group forms part of a larger syndicate exploiting public transport routes to traffic explosives across the country.
All five suspects remain in custody as investigators intensify efforts to determine the intended destination and potential use of the intercepted explosives. The bus and its deadly cargo are being held as exhibits in what authorities are calling one of the most significant anti-terror busts this year.
As pressure mounts on security agencies to neutralize domestic threats, the arrests offer a sobering reminder of the ever-evolving tactics used by criminal networks—and the need for constant vigilance.
