Westerners arrested for “spying” in Congo had Kenyan links

October 6, 2009 · Leave a Comment

Joshua French

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
The bizarre case of two Norwegian citizens arrested in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) last May on spying charges is getting ever more complex. Tjostolv Moland, 28, and Joshua French, 27 (photo), were arrested in Kisangani, DRC, after their Congolese driver was found murdered with a bullet wound in his head. Prosecutors also accuse the two Norwegians of trying to kill a murder witness on orders of the Norwegian government, which has denied any connection with the two prisoners. Now, according to an investigation by Norway’s TV2 channel, Moland and French are said to have had a formal contract with the government of Kenya to train a 120-member elite security unit responsible for protecting VIPs in the country. The TV station says its investigation shows that the two Norwegians were in contact with an unidentified Kenyan official, who said he was a member of the Kenyan embassy in the DRC. The training contract was purportedly codenamed Project KILO by Kenyan authorities, and included the participation of Torgeir Friksen, head of Norwegian-owned private bodyguard company Special Intervention Group. The Kenyan government has denied TV2’s allegations, saying the country’s security forces are trained mostly “with British and American partners”.