Sheikh Rogo arrested again, weapons seized

Controversial preacher Aboud Rogo was arrested on Sunday following a raid at his home in Kikambala, Kilifi County, during which police say they recovered a cache of arms.

The firearms displayed by the police included 102 explosives, 82 rounds of ammunition, an AK-47 rifle loaded with 27 bullets, two hand grenades, a Ceska pistol loaded with 10 bullets, and a loaded revolver.

However, family members disputed the police account and claimed the weapons on display were planted by the security agents.

The squad from the Kenya Police Anti-Terrorism Unit raided Sheikh Rogo’s home shortly after 6am on Sunday.

Sheikh Rogo was later driven to Mombasa provincial police headquarters before being locked up at an undisclosed police station in town.

Coast Provincial Police boss Aggrey Adoli told journalists that officers have been following several crucial links which took them to the preacher.

He said the trail started at the end of last year with a gun battle between police officers and suspected Al-Shabaab infiltrators at Boni Forest in Kiunga, Lamu, on the Kenya-Somalia border.

“A special police force has been trailing those who escaped after the Boni Forest incident in Lamu East on December 31 during which three terrorists were killed and six AK-47 rifles and 358 rounds of ammunition recovered,” said the police boss.

He said the trail led to premises at Majengo in Kilifi where Sheikh Rogo runs a madrassa (Islamic school).

After the arrest, the suspect was transferred from Kijipwa police station to Coast Provincial Criminal Investigation Department headquarters.

“We have the suspect with us and we shall interrogate him to get more details about how he operates,” said Mr Adoli.

But Sheikh Rogo’s family angrily discounted the police claims linking him to terrorist activities.

His wife, Hania Said Saggar, alleged that the police had harassed them while conducting the raid and that the firearms were planted in the home.

She said police had ordered all the children in the madrassa to lie down before handcuffing her husband.

“The children who were in madrassa witnessed how it happened and how the police placed the hand grenades in the house,” said Ms Saggar.

She claimed the raid followed the failure by the police to get any evidence to support an ongoing case in which Sheikh Rogo is charged with involvement in terrorist activities.

Mr Adoli said the suspect will be taken to court on Monday.

If he is charged in court, this would be the third such case for him. He is already facing a charge of being a member of Al-Shabaab. He is out on bond in the case.