The diplomatic tension at the Lunga Lunga-Horohoro border eased late yesterday following the release of five Kenyans including two armed police officers detained by Tanzanian authorities for conducting an unauthorized operation on foreign soil.

While the personnel have been repatriated, the incident has exposed a significant procedural lapse, prompting a high-level internal probe into how a Kenyan security team bypassed international protocols to launch a “sting” mission in a sovereign neighbor state.

The drama began on January 6, 2026, when two officers attached to the Tononoka Police Station Crime Office in Mombasa tracked a fraud suspect across the border into Tanzania.

The suspect, identified as Mr. Omar Ali, was wanted for allegedly obtaining money by false pretenses in the Tononoka area.

In a move that flouted East African Community (EAC) security protocols, the officers PC Patrick Kithinji and PC Amed Ali attempted to effect the arrest themselves at the Horohoro border point.

The police team was not alone. In a peculiar twist for a formal operation, they were accompanied by a senior official from a Kenyan government agency (the complainant), the official’s wife, and a driver—all traveling in a Kenyan government-registered vehicle.

The mission hit a wall when Tanzanian security forces confronted the group. Accusing the Kenyans of illegal entry and being armed without authorization, Tanzanian authorities disarmed the two officers and confiscated two Ceska pistols, each loaded with 15 rounds of ammunition.

“The Tanzanian side was firm,” a security source told our desk. “You cannot enter a sovereign state with firearms and government plates to conduct an arrest without coordinating with your counterparts. It is a direct violation of the EAC One-Stop Border Post (OSBP) Act 2016.”

The detention triggered a flurry of high-level activity. Kenya was forced to dispatch a dedicated security team to Tanzania to negotiate the release. Following intense deliberations between security chiefs from both nations, the Tanzanian authorities agreed to hand over the five individuals.

However, the release came with conditions. While the five were allowed to return to Kenya, their government vehicle and firearms remain impounded at the Lunga Lunga Police Station pending further investigations.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the suspect, Mr. Omar Ali, remains at large and is believed to be hiding deeper within Tanzania.

For the Tononoka officers, the return home is just the beginning of a new legal battle. The National Police Service has signaled that an investigation is underway to determine why the team chose to “go rogue” instead of utilizing the established Interpol or cross-border liaison channels.

“This was a lapse in judgment that could have turned into a much larger diplomatic incident,” a senior official noted. “We are investigating the incident for further administrative and legal action.”