Two deny recruiting for Shabaab
What you need to know:
- Mr Mbuiya and Mr Dunda are said to have committed the offence on July 7 in Mazeras Township, Kilifi County.
- Ms Lewthwaite had been charged in absentia with being in possession of explosives and conspiracy to commit a felony. The case was first filed in court on January 4, 2012, and has since been mentioned 28 times before different magistrates.
Two men were Wednesday charged with recruiting other people to join Al-Shabaab.
Mr Mkauma Ali Mbuiya and Mr Kalume Ibrahim Dunda are said to have, with others not in court, been found in Boni Forest on the Kenya-Somali border, attempting to cross into the neighbouring country with the intention of joining the terror group.
Mr Mbuiya and Mr Dunda are said to have committed the offence on July 7 in Mazeras Township, Kilifi County.
They denied the charge before chief magistrate Stephen Riechi, who remanded them in custody until August 25 when the case will be heard.
The prosecution opposed their plea to be released on bail. “The accused are likely to interfere with witnesses if released on bond. They are also likely to abscond and go to Somalia to join Al-Shabaab,” said police officer Gabriel Karugu in an affidavit.
THREAT TO NATIONAL SECURITY
The accused, who were unrepresented, were a threat to national security, he stated. “As much as we respect the accused’s right to be released on bond, the right is limited and should not supersede that of national security,” said Mr Karugu.
Meanwhile, a court last week issued a warrant of arrest for a police officer investigating a case involving British terror suspect Samantha Lewthwaite and her suspected Kenyan accomplice.
The court had ordered the officer in charge of the Anti-Terrorist Police Unit to execute the warrant.
Ms Lewthwaite had been charged in absentia with being in possession of explosives and conspiracy to commit a felony. The case was first filed in court on January 4, 2012, and has since been mentioned 28 times before different magistrates.
