Journalist Laban Cliff Onserio arrested by anti-terror police over grenade drama

Detectives from the Anti-Terror Police Unit (ATPU) are holding Standard Group’s Chief of Staff Mr Laban Cliff Onserio for being in possession of a grenade and threatening to attack using it.

Mr Onserio, a former Deputy Director of Communications at State House’s Presidential Delivery Unit (PDU) was arrested on Sunday morning at Nairobi's Holy Family Basilica basement (2) by detectives after the grenade was found in his car by officers who had been called in by the church’s guards to respond to an altercation that involved him.

The cathedral runs a commercial parking facility that is manned by a private security company on a 24-hour basis.

According to guards, Mr Onserio had parked his car at the facility to attend the Solfest Music Festival at the KICC and only came to pick it up on Sunday morning while visibly drunk.

“His car was parked at level two, but he went up to level three where he started hitting on a woman who was in the company of other people. An altercation ensued and he started telling them that he is a soldier from the British Army hence untouchable,” recalled one of the guards who was on duty at the time.

Following the altercation, the guards called in the police who took over the case and conducted a search at his car, a Nissan X-trail and recovered a stun grenade, a pocket phone model GA-25 and two iPhones.

A stun grenade is considered a less-lethal device similar to a tear gas canister and is used to dispel rioting crowds during demos.

They then called in detectives from ATPU who took over the case and detained him pending his arraignment in court.

Detectives said Mr Onserio could not give satisfactory reasons why he was in possession of the flash bang grenade and neither produce a certificate allowing him to be in possession of the said explosive device.

An affidavit filed at the Kahawa anti-terror court says the suspect told detectives that he acquired the grenade from a British national, Mr Don Smith said to be currently working with Fly 540.

The officers are seeking to detain him for five more days to enable them to seek a search warrant as they believe he could be in possession of more grenades.

The detectives also want time to conduct a forensic examination of the gadgets before they charge him with the appropriate charges.

At the same time, ATPU detectives are holding a 33-year-old man who circulated a video tape of himself dressed in full military uniform.

In the video that he circulated on social media, Moses Mwenda Karoti who is expected in court today was impersonating a military officer based in Garissa.

He was arrested on Saturday morning and the uniform recovered at his hideout.