Netflix Series Explores Kenya's Ties to White Widow, Felicien Kabuga [VIDEO]

A poster from the Netflix series 'World's Most Wanted' showing Samantha Lethwaite alias White Widow
A poster from the Netflix series 'World's Most Wanted' showing Samantha Lethwaite alias White Widow
File

Kenya's ties to some of the world's most notorious fugitives feature prominently in a new Netflix original docu-series, World's Most Wanted, released on Wednesday, August 5.

The first season of the true crime series has five episodes; with Kenya featuring in two. One focuses on Samantha Lethwaite alias White Widow, linked to several terror attacks including Westgate in 2013

The other looks at Felicien Kabuga, the Rwandan businessman long-accused of hiding in Kenya before his arrest in May in Paris in connection with the Rwandan genocide.

Among those interviewed for the Lethwaite episode was Martin Otieno, Head of the Anti-Terror Police Unit (ATPU) in Mombasa.

He revealed how, in December 2011, Lethwaite deceived them and got away from their grip within a short moment as they sought to question her on ties to a terror plot.

File image of fugitive Samantha Lethwaite alias White Widow
File image of fugitive Samantha Lethwaite alias White Widow
File

Otieno explained that, working on intelligence that a terrorist cell was planning an attack in Mombasa, they got an address to where the terrorists were staying.

According to police, the building with several houses was owned by a UK citizen, Jermaine Jon Grant, and was believed to contain materials needed for making explosives.

Otieno noted that, as investigations later revealed, Lethwaite was financing the entire operation and was in charge.

It was there that a team of police found Lethwaite with her children. When asked who she was, she provided fake documentation indicating she was Natalie Webb, a South African.

"In one of the houses was a white lady. She opened the door, she was very calm, she was wearing a Muslim veil. We looked at the passport, it was her photo. It was not a forged document.

"She told us she was a South African by the name Natalie Faye Webb. So we didn't have any reason to doubt that passport," he stated.

Soon after, however, Police received intelligence that Natalie Faye Webb was one of Lethwaite's many aliases.

"We got another intelligence report that Natalie Faye Webb was a fake name. Immediately we sent back another team to the house only to discover she was gone.

"We discovered some items. The most interesting one was a UK birth certificate of a lady by the name Samantha Lethwaite," he stated.

Otieno noted that at the house, they also found documents that led them to another villa in Shanzu that was being used by Lethwaite. There, they found sacks of cash, ammunition, rifles and fake passports.

According to Mike Pflantz, a former Daily Telegraph correspondent who extensively covered the matter for the UK publication, Lethwaite was co-ordinating an attack on Mombasa hotels during the holidays, which is the peak tourism season.

He corroborated Otieno's report on how Lethwaite managed to get away from the police during the operation.

Pflantz, who was also interviewed for the series, claimed that Lethwaite was sent a text message by Jermaine Grant warning her that Kenyan police were on her trail.

To date, Lethwaite's whereabouts remain unknown although suspicion remains high that she is hiding out in Kenya or Somalia. 

Watch a trailer for the show below:

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