Joseph Ndunda 12,11, 2013 The High Court will on Wednesday next week decide on whether or not, grant cash bail to four men suspected of aiding the Westgate shopping mall terror attack in which over 70 persons were massacred and 175 others injured nearly two months ago. Chief Magistrate Kiarie Waweru Kiarie has set the date to rule on the matter raised yesterday by the suspects’ lawyer Mbungua Mureithi amid objection by prosecution during mention of the case to fix hearing dates. The trial of the four is set for three consecutive days between 15th and 17th and additional days on 27th and 28th of January next year. Magistrate Dolphine Okundi yesterday declined to release them on cash bail as sought by their lawyer Mureithi after State counsel James Mungai Warui raised objections. Warui told the court that releasing the four was endangering national security since “they have a vast network meant to execute more explosive attacks”. “Our reasons are spelt out in an affidavit submitted in court. The suspects are a flight risk as they don’t have a fixed residence and their destination if released is unpredictable” stated Warui. He told the court that releasing the four on bond was “synonymous to allowing them roam around accomplishing their ideals which are machinations of causing mass destruction to life and property, meddling with investigations and threatening and or compromising witnesses to subvert justice”. The four Mohamed Ahmed Abdi, Liban Abdullah Omar, Hussein Hassan Mustafa and Ibrahim Adan Dheq are facing five counts of abetting terrorism and obtaining false identification documents. Dheq is charged with obtaining a false Kenyan Identity card at Mandera town registration office in July 2010. Warui accuses Mohamed Ahmed Abdi and Liban Abdulla Omar of supporting two terrorists identified as Abdinoor Said and Hassan Dhohullow in committing a terrorist act at the Westgate mall. He also accuses Ibrahim Aden Dheq of harboring Abdukadir Hared Mohamed alias Mohamed Hussein in Eastleigh Nairobi on or before October 7 knowing he had committed a terrorist act. The suspects who have been communicating to the court through a Somali translator as they cannot understand Kiswahili or English have all denied the charges pressed against them. None of the four is accused of carrying out the attack in which unknown number of masked Al-shabaab linked gunmen held the upscale shopping mall hostage shooting indiscriminately at the shoppers before the intervention of security agencies who ended the siege on fourth day. They are charged with giving support to terrorist group, being unlawful immigrants, fraudulently obtaining citizenship and harboring terrorists who either escaped or died during the battle with Kenya’s elite security forces. In May this year, Kiarie handed life sentences to two Iranians Sayeed Mansour and Ahmed Mohamed after convicting them of sneaking 15 kg of chemical substances (RDX) used to manufacture dangerous explosives and planning terror attacks in the country, setting a precedent for war on terror.
Posted on: Tue, 12 Nov 2013 13:00:55 +0000
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