Celebrated journalist, rally driver and media executive Laban Cliff Onserio was on Sunday, December 18 apprehended by officers from the Anti-Tërror Police Unit (ATPU) after he was found in possession of a flashbang grënade at a Nairobi church.
As per court documents seen by Business Today dated December 19th, the police are seeking to to detain Onserio for five days as they investigate. He was apprehended at Holy Family Basilica. According to the ATPU, Onserio “threatened members of the public with imminent attáck against them while holding said grënade in his hand”. The grënade was found in his car, a Nissan X-Trail.
Onserio is currently Chief of Staff in the Office of the Group CEO at Standard Group, one of the country’s largest media companies. He has been in the role since September 2021. Between October 2018 and September 2021, he served as the Deputy Communications Director in the Presidential Delivery Unit (PDU), in former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration.
He previously had stints as a business reporter on TV stations including NTV and CNBC. He has also been a rally co-driver racing alongside Nzioka Waita – former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Chief of Staff, and took part in the WRC Safari Rally in 2021.
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Police arrived at Holy Family Basilica after a tërror threat was called in at the church. The police claim that Onserio was unable to offer a satisfactory explanation for his possession of the grënade. Seeking to conduct forensic investigations, police also stated that Onserio failed to produce a certificate proving legal ownership of the grënade.
Police indicated that preliminary investigations showed he acquired the grënade in 2021 from a British national identified in court documents as Don Smith, who was working for local airline Fly 540. The documents do not indicate the specific date when he allëgedly acquired the grënade.
The news hit the media fraternity by surprise as Onserio is considered one of the country’s pre-eminent business reporters, with a long track record of covering high-profile stories, hosting notable guests and moderating high-powered panels.
At Standard Group, his roles include executive communication and leading the company’s engagement with senior government officials, as well as hosting leadership shows such as The Headhunter.
Onserio is the holder of a Bachelors in Business Administration and Marketing from Strathmore University, where he graduated in 2011, as well as an MBA from the United States International University (USIU).
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