Detectives arrested a Canadian national after he stabbed and wounded worshippers at a mosque in Westlands, Nairobi.
The man was armed with a sword when he suddenly attacked and stabbed at least three worshippers during the 5 am prayers at the mosque off Waiyaki Way, police and witnesses said.
The motive of the attack was not immediately known, police said.
This is the first such an incident after a long time, police said.
The victims were attended at the scene and later rushed to the hospital with multiple injuries.
Witnesses said other worshippers responded as the attacker went on with his mission and subdued him in the Saturday February 28, 2026 morning incident.
The worshippers disarmed him and called police who responded immediately.
A witness said the man shouted words “allahu wakibar” as he went on with his attack.
He was briefly roughed up by the other worshippers before police arrived.
He was handed over to the Anti Terror Police Unit for questioning. It emerged the suspect was originally from Somalia but has a Canadian passport.
Nairobi head of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations Benson Kasyoki confirmed the incident and revealed the situation was contained few minutes later.
He said the suspect was under interrogation to establish his motive.
“He pulled a matchete he had in his coat and used it to stab and injure three worshipers. He has been arrested and taken for interrogation,” said Kasyoki.
Kasyoki said they are keen to establish if the man was acting alone.
“The experts are talking to him to know more,” he said.
He added the suspect was on holiday in the country and the sword he used in the attack was taken as an exhibit.
This comes amid heightened police operations in the Ramadhan period when intelligence shows some elements plan to strike in urban areas.
Police say they have thwarted dozens of attempts to attack in various places in the capital and elsewhere.
Most of the terror plans come from Somalia.
Somalia has not had an effective central government since the 1991 overthrow of President Siad Barre’s military regime, which ushered in more than two decades of anarchy and conflict in a country deeply divided along clan lines.
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