Nairobi’s Kasarani divisional police commander Robin Mboloi said the private security guards discovered the devices while screening one of the visitors to the Garden City Mall located in the outskirts of the capital.

“The security guards discovered the improvised explosive devices the man was carrying during the screening exercise. They later detained him and later called the police who established the object was improvised explosive devices, which, we suspect, he wanted to detonate inside the shopping mall,” Mboloi told Xinhua by telephone.

He said the 3:30 p.m. incident caused panic among the shoppers in the high-end mall, which features 33,000 square metres of retail space, apartments, and a three-acre central park.

Mboloi said the man, below 50s, was arrested along with two other suspects whom the police believe are his accomplices.

He said bomb experts were later called in and successfully detonated devices which could have caused a lot of damage.

“Normalcy has been restored in the mall,” Mboloi said, adding that investigations will continue to establish the motive of the three men.

The mall, which hosts local and international brands including South Africa’s retailer Massmart, opened its doors to shoppers in July. Enditem