Somalia/Kenya/Ukraine

Police arrest campaigner for Sudan arms smuggling accusation

Article published on the 2008-10-02 Latest update 2008-10-02 17:11 TU

The Ukranian ship Faina, which is carrying military equipment, is being held by pirates off the coast of Somalia.
(Photo : Reuters)

Mombasa police arrested seafears' rights campaigner Andrew Mwangura on Thursday after he told the international media that arms on the hijacked ship Faina might be smuggled to Sudan via Kenya.

Somali pirates have been holding the Ukrainian-owned Faina, which was headed for Mombasa, for a week.

Speaking to RFI on Sunday, Mwangura raised suspicions that the 33 tanks and other arms on board might be destined for Southern Sudan, which is subject to an international arms embargo, and alleged that other shipments may have already been smuggled through the port.

Mwangura, who works for the East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme in Mombasa, was arrested on Wednesday night.

Police say they want to question him about the controversy and that he is likely to be charged with making an alarming statement, which is a crime in Kenya.  

“He has made some very serious allegations pertaining to how the money of ransom needs to be paid … that have been of great interest to our intelligence services,” said Alfred Mutua, a spokesman for the Kenyan government.

“He appears to be their [the pirates’] spokesperson, especially when pushing for ransom to be paid,” Mutua said.

Mwangura’s statement has angered Kenyan authorities, who brokered an end to Sudan's north-south war in 2005.

They were originally confirmed by US navy sources, who then retracted their statements. Kenya, Sudan and Ukraine have all denied the report.