Members of Drummer Lee Rigby’s family wept as they made an emotional visit to the scene of his murder on Sunday.
His widow Rebecca, mother Lyn, 46, stepfather Ian Rigby, 54, and other relatives laid flowers at the Woolwich Barracks in south-east London where the soldier with the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers was based, and where hundreds of floral tributes have already been left by wellwishers.
Their visit came as Kenyan anti-terrorism police confirmed Michael Adebolajo, 28, one of the men being held over Drummer Rigby’s murder, was arrested in the country in 2010 while allegedly trying to join an al Qaida-linked militant group in Somalia.
Later, counter-terrorism police arrested a 22-year-old man in north London, the ninth person to be arrested in connection with the soldier’s killing last Wednesday.
Drummer Rigby’s 30-year-old widow, clutching a soft toy, pinned a balloon with the words ‘Dad in a million’ close to the spot where her husband was killed.
His mother and stepfather consoled each other as they walked along the wall where thousands of floral tributes have been left in memory of the soldier, while dozens of passers-by lined the street in silence. They then crossed the road to look at the exact spot where he was murdered.
His mother collapsed on to the edge of the pavement as she wept, and sat on the kerb while other family members wrapped their arms around her.
As the investigation into the soldier’s murder continued, Kenyan anti-terrorism police confirmed that Adebolajo had previously been arrested in the country close to the border with Somalia, where al Qaida-linked militant group al-Shabab is based.
Anti-terrorism unit head Boniface Mwaniki told the Associated Press he was arrested in 2010 along with five other men, all believed to have been preparing to train and fight with the group. Adebolajo was later deported, he said.
A Foreign Office spokeswoman confirmed that a British national was arrested in Kenya in 2010 and it had provided consular assistance.
Meanwhile, counter-terrorism officers supported by armed police arrested a man on suspicion of conspiracy to murder, in St Paul’s Road in Highbury Grove, north London, the Metropolitan Police said.
Nine people have now been arrested in connection with Drummer Rigby’s death. Adebolajo and Michael Oluwatobi Adebowale, 22, who are being held on suspicion of murder, remain in hospital.