The Directorate of Criminal Investigations has on Sunday January 30, 2021 announced that it will liase with Congolese authorities through INTERPOL on the arrest of Kenyan fugitive and terror suspect Rashid Mohammed Salim also known as Chotara.
Rashid is set to be grilled by anti-terror detectives in relation to crimes he committed in Kenya before fleeing to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“Salim fled the country in December 2020, and sneaked into Congo (DRC) through Uganda, where he has been a key member of an Islamist rebel group known as the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF),” a statement by DCI read in part.
The investigative authority stated that the terror suspect has been on their watchlist after he was charged with terror offences in a Mombasa court. Rashid reportedly jumped bail, prompting the court to issue a warrant of arrest against him.
Before his escape in 2020, Salim flew to Turkey, where he had travelled to purportedly study an undergraduate course. He would later be deported by Turkish authorities after he was arrested attempting to cross over to Syria.
“He was placed behind bars and charged with various terror offenses, related to the explosives materials discovered during the raid in Kwale, in 2017. The court granted him bail and he continued attending court sessions until his disappearance in 2020,” the DCI statement further stated.
During interrogation, the terror suspect told detectives that he had been looking forward to fulfilling Jihad before going to paradise, where 72 virgins waited to surprise him.
“A year later, the suspect escaped our dragnet in an intelligence led operation by ATPU detectives, after explosives were recovered in a house he was occupying in Kwale county,” the statement by the investigative authority concluded.
