Kenya police arrest maritime official

The Kenya Broadcasting Corporation reports that Andrew Mwangura, coordinator of the Seafarers Assistance program, has been arrested in Mombasa for "issuing alarming statements to the media" concerning the hijacked ship Faina.

Coast province police Chief Kingori Mwangi said police detained Mr. Mwangural\ on Wednesday night, but did not specify what laws Mwangura may have broken.

Mr. Mwangura was the first to say publicly that the tanks and weapons aboard the recently hijacked ship were headed for Sudan.

Kenyan officials assert the arms belong to its army.

KBC says that Mr. Mwangura handed himself over to the police shortly after 9 PM following advice from his lawyer after spending the day in hiding at the offices of a local newspaper.

Police sources say Mr. Mwangura has been very vocal with the media and appears to know a lot about the ship and its cargo's destination, reports KBC.

Meantime, a leading Kenya newspaper, the Daily Nation, yesterday quoted "impeccable sources in Kenya's military" as confiding that the tanks and other arms--including anti-aircraft guns and rocket propelled grenades -- were going to Mombasa only to be off-loaded and sent on to Juba, the South Sudan capital.