Terror suspect undergoes surgery

A woman terror suspect was taken ill Thursday and was set to undergo surgery at the Coast General Hospital, Mombasa County.

The woman, Ms Maryam Said Aboud, is one of four women charged in March last year with being members of the Al-Shabaab militia group.

Chief Magistrate Douglas Ogoti postponed the case after a medical report produced in court indicated that she was in the hospital awaiting an operation.

State Counsel Ngina Mutua told the court that the suspect was ill and was scheduled for surgery Thursday after her health deteriorated.

“We were ready to proceed with the case,’’ Ms Mutua said.
“The suspect will undergo surgery which involves the removal of her left adrenal gland,” Ms Mutua said.

She also noted that the evidence that was to be given in court was crucial to the case and that it would be just if the suspect is present in court.

The other three suspects are Ms Ummulkheir Sadri Abdulla, Ms Khadija Abubakar Abdulkadir and Ms Halima Adan.

Defence lawyers Chacha Mwita and Hamisi Mwadzogo opposed the adjournment and insisted that they were ready to proceed with the case since they were presenting the suspect.

They also made an application to move the court to the hospital so that the case can be heard without fail.

DECLINED APPLICATIONS

But the magistrate declined to grant both applications saying moving the court to the hospital needs a prior arrangement, adding that the application was an ambush to the court.

“It should also be noted that it is the suspect who is on trial not the defence lawyers, in view of the medical report and that it was not her wish to be taken ill, hearing of the case cannot proceed until the fate of the suspect is known,” the magistrate said.

Cybercrime expert from Nairobi Inspector Nicholas Waringa was scheduled to analyse the electronic evidence from the laptops and mobile phones recovered from the four suspects.
The witness could not proceed after the new developments that prompted the court to postpone the hearing of the case to a later date to enable the suspect to undergo operation and recover from her ailment.

The women have denied 20 terror related charges levelled against them including being members of Al-Shabaab militia group.

They also denied possessing videos and pictures of former and current al Qaeda leaders Osama Bin Laden and Ayman Al-Zawahiri, who are known for organising and committing terror activities.

Police said they committed the offence on March 27, 2015, at Elwak border point in Mandera County while trying to sneak into Somalia.
The case will be mentioned on October 10.