On Monday, December 19, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) wanted to detain Laban Cliff Onserio for five days so that the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU) could look into a case in which he was stopped with an explosive inside his car.
Onserio, the chief of staff for Standard Media Group, was detained on Sunday, December 18, allegedly while threatening the public with a grenade.
According to reports, the event took place in Nairobi’s central business district’s second basement.
Former Statehouse Deputy Director of Communications Cliff Onserio finds himself in the hands of Anti Terrorism Police Unit.
Shocking. pic.twitter.com/y84vk4jIaZ
— Ole Teya (@TeyaKevin) December 19, 2022
Detectives charged the former NTV anchor with neglecting to inform the security personnel that he was in possession of the grenade for the flash-bang training system.
Additionally, it was claimed that he did not present a document proving his ownership of the grenade.
The report further added that the journalist could not provide satisfactory reasons why he was in possession of the flash-bang grenade.
“The respondent was arrested by a multi-agency team who responded at the scene after receiving information about a terror threat.
“He had not made a declaration to the security guards that he was in possession of the Flashbang training system grenade,” the report detailed.
DCI further accused Onserio of illegally accruing the grenade in 2021, from a British national currently working with an airline company in Kenya.
He was suspected of being in possession of more flash-bang grenades, prompting the investigating team to require more time to obtain a search warrant.
It was also speculated that the journalist had associates, and the detectives and security agencies within and outside the country launched a manhunt for the said persons.
“The explosive device recovered has been forwarded to the Bomb disposal and hazardous unit to be forensically examined and reports are yet to be obtained and analysed,” the report detailed.
In addition, his cell phones were forwarded to the ICT laboratory for forensic examination, and analysis to determine whether there were any links to terrorism.
