/ 21 December 2010

Kenyan police ramp up patrols after blast

Kenyan police intensified security on Tuesday following an explosion at a Nairobi bus station which killed three people and injured dozens of others.

Police were patrolling Nairobi’s busy streets where many travellers are taking buses to their upcountry homes for end year holidays and festivities, an Agence France-Presse correspondent said.

The explosion on Monday evening went off as passengers were preparing to board a night bus to the Ugandan capital Kampala.

“We have beefed up security in all parts of the city, particularly on congested streets and bus terminus. We want to ensure a similar attack does not occur,” said Njoroge Ndirangu, the administrative head of Nairobi province.

The blast occurred just hours after Uganda’s police chief Kale Kayihura warned of possible attacks on Uganda by Islamist militants.

Kenyan Police Chief Mathew Iteere did not immediately link the blast to Islamist militants.

An official with the bus company, Kampala Coach Ltd, said the would-be attacker was among those wounded or killed by the blast, which went off when he hastily abandoned his bag after realising that all luggage was being searched. — Sapa-AFP