Standard Boss Busted Threatening Kenyans With Grenade At Nairobi Church

The state urged the court to allow them time due to the complex nature of the investigations.

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Dec 19, 2022 - 12:14 Updated: Dec 19, 2022 - 14:17
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Standard Boss Busted Threatening Kenyans With Grenade At Nairobi Church
Standard Media Group (SMG) Chief of Staff Laban Cliff Onserio. /FILE

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) seeks to detain Standard Media Group (SMG) Chief of Staff Laban Cliff Onserio for five days in custody after he was arrested for being in possession of an explosive on Sunday, December 18.

Onserio was presented at the Kahawa Law Courts on Monday, December 19 after he was discovered with the explosive, a grenade, at the Holy Family Basilica parking lot.

In an affidavit by PC Vincent Mutai, the police alleged that he was found with the grenade in his car and he was alleged to have used the device to threaten members of the public with an imminent attack.

Holy Family Basilica church in Nairobi. /FILE

“The respondent is a journalist and owner of motor vehicle registration number KDE was arrested yesterday at the Holy family basilica basement following an incident and was in possession of a flash-bang training system model 7290T. He threatened the public while holding the said grenade,” reads court papers seen by Viral Tea.

He was arrested by a multi-agency team who responded to the scene after receiving information of a terror threat at the church, which is a few metres away from government buildings such as City Hall, Parliament and the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC).

Mutai explained that Onserio could not give satisfactory reasons why he was in possession of the flash-bang grenade neither did he produce a certificate allowing him to be in possession of the said explosive device.

Police suspected that he is in possession of more flash-bang grenades which the investigating team requires more time to obtain search warrants to recover. 

“Investigations have revealed that Onserio acquired illegally the device from a British national,” Mutai claimed.

Police believe that Laban has other associates who are yet to be apprehended and Mutai added that their arrest is being pursued by security agencies both within and outside the country.

The state urged the court to allow them time due to the complex nature of the investigations.

The cathedral runs a commercial parking facility that is manned by a private security company on a 24-hour basis. The premises' guards revealed that Onserio had parked his car at the facility to attend the Solfest Music Festival at the KICC and only came to pick it up on Sunday morning while visibly drunk.

“His car was parked at level two, but he went up to level three where he started hitting on a woman who was in the company of other people. An altercation ensued and he started telling them that he is a soldier from the British Army hence untouchable,” one of the guards who was on duty at the time was quoted by the Nation.

Following the altercation, the guards called in the police who took over the case and conducted a search of his car, a Nissan X-trail and recovered the explosive, a stun grenade, a pocket phone model GA-25 and two I-phones.

A stun grenade is considered a less-lethal device similar to a tear gas canister and is used to dispel rioting crowds during demos.

Officers outside the entrance of DCI headquarters. /FILE

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