On Monday, August 2, 2021, Deputy President William Ruto was blocked from traveling to Uganda for a private visit.
However, his entourage of businessmen was allowed to continue with the trip. The entourage entailed Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi, Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro, Kinango MP Benjamin Tayari, businessman Dr David Langat Bett, Dr Eric Ruto, Elija Ronoh and Harun Aydin.
Of interest was Mr Harun Aydin, who was the only non-Kenyan accompanying Ruto to Uganda for the private visit whose mission is yet to be disclosed.
Our investigations found Mr Aydin to be a terror suspect previously arrested in Frankfurt, Germany, in October 2001 with luggage containing camouflage clothing, a chemical-weapons protection suit, a ski mask and materials to produce an explosive detonator.
Also found in his luggage were CD-ROM with a training video for Islamic holy warriors, a suicide note to his wife and a last testament.
According to The New York Times, Aydin was at that time a leading member of a militant group in Cologne, Federation of Islamic Associations and Communities, led by Muhammed Metin Kaplan alias the caliph of Cologne.
Read: DP William Ruto Blocked From Flying To Uganda, Spends Five Hours At The Airport
In court, Aydin was charged with having planned serious acts of violence as a member of a terrorist group with an Islamic fundamentalist background.
He was also accused of giving instructions for serious crimes such as murder and manslaughter in several incidences.
Before the arrest, Mr Aydin had been sentenced to four years in jail after he was found guilty of advocating the murder of a rival, Halil Ibrahim Sofu, but was later acquitted.
It was alleged that Mr Aydin’s group, Federation of Islamic Associations and Communities, had contacts with Osama bin Laden and his network, Al Qaeda, in 1996 and 1997.
Intelligence reports also indicated that a delegation of Kaplan supporters visited Bin Laden at an Afghan camp in 1997. Also, European-based Taliban and Bin Laden supporters visited Kaplan supporters in Germany in 1998.
The Federation of Islamic Associations and Communities was accused of having plans to overthrow Turkey’s elected government and several others in the world, and replace them with fundamentalist Islamic Rule, according to Los Angeles Times.
Kahawa Tungu is informed that the presence of the terror suspect raised red flags in the government, prompting security agencies to advise that he (Ruto) should be barred from traveling.
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