Freed arms ship due in Kenya port

By Karen Allen BBC East Africa correspondent

Kenya has rebuffed allegations the arms on board were headed for Sudan

A ship packed with military cargo, freed after being held by pirates since September, is to offload tanks and weaponry in the Kenyan port of Mombasa.

Controversy still surrounds the cargo on the Ukrainian-registered MV Faina.

The Kenyan authorities maintain that the combat tanks and ammunition aboard the ship are merely new supplies for the Kenyan army.

But experts insist that all the signs suggest that the freight was destined for South Sudan.

Amid tight security, a delegation of Kenyan and Ukrainian dignitaries will meet the ship when it docks in Mombasa.

Secrecy

The arrival of the MV Faina has become a huge public spectacle, with the media invited to witness the event.

This is in sharp contrast to the secrecy that has surrounded the ship and its cargo since it was hijacked off the coast of Somalia back in September.

While the Kenyan authorities insist that the cargo of more than 30 T-72 combat tanks and thousands of rounds of ammunition are destined for the Kenyan military, international security experts say all the signs are that the cargo was bound for South Sudan.

A parliamentary committee is investigating the issue.

If the allegations are true, it would be a huge embarrassment for the Kenyan government - which helped broker a peace deal between the north and south of Sudan four years ago.