Mombasa police want 2 weeks to interrogate terror suspect

Detectives want a terror suspect found with explosives detained for 14 days to enable them finalise investigations.

In an application filed in a Mombasa court, the police claimed Feruz Hamid Abubakar is linked to a terror group or has information that might assist them in investigations.

Relying on a police affidavit, State Counsel Eugene Wangila told Senior Principal Magistrate Henry Nyakweba that Ms Hamid is suspected to be associated with terror suspects who are still at large.

“Police are on high state of alert and there is reasonable apprehension requiring further investigations that the suspect might have been planning to execute a terror attack in the country,” Mr Wangila told the court Monday.

Ms Hamid was arrested on January 7 at Flaringi, Bondeni in Mombasa County by Anti-Terror Police Unit following intelligence received from a credible source  privy to the suspect’s involvement in terrorism acts.

Police said they recovered four electronic detonators, two explosive boosters, Safaricom, Airtel and Orange sim cards, a lap top and eight mobile phones.

The suspect is said to be a wife of one of a terror suspected charged with detonating explosives at a hotel in Mombasa and is currently in police custody. 

Mr Wangila told the court that the items recovered from the suspect’s residence was a clear indication that she might be involved in terror activities.

“Detectives are yet to subject the items recovered from the suspect to forensic analysis, investigations are wide and complex and it will require the investigations officer to travel to Nairobi to unearth any link to terror,” he told the court.

The State counsel also urged the court to detain the suspect saying detectives are yet to establish her fixed place of abode, social ties and links to terror networks.

He said the suspect was a flight risk and it was dangerous to let her free since crucial leads are being followed before officially preferring charges against her.

“Your honour explosive boosters are not toys, the items are under investigations in forensic unit and we are expecting report from the investigators for the purposes of trial, her close relatives and friends are also being interrogated,” he told the court.

Mr Wangila told the court that more charges are likely to be introduced after investigations are complete hence the need for more time to investigate and prepare proper charges against the suspect.

He termed the ongoing investigations as wide and complex hence require ample time to finalise before charging the suspect, adding that the suspect’s residence should be marked as a crime scene.

“I would seek that this court, the suspect and the prosecution to assist the public in getting protection against such criminal acts, it is also the public interest that such cases are properly investigated and every detail unraveled,” said Mr Wangila

But the suspect’s lawyer Chacha Mwita opposed the application saying the prosecution had not singled out a specific offence they intend to charge the suspect with.

He also said that affidavit the prosecution relied on was contradictory and that it lucked substantial evidence linking the suspect to any criminal act.

“The affidavit is confusing and the prosecution want to violate the right of the suspect based on speculations, in one paragraph they said they are yet to establish the suspect’s place of abode and in another, they call her a Kenyan citizen and that she was arrested at her residence,” Mr Chacha added.

He said a mere fact that the suspect is under investigation for terror related matters are not compelling reasons to detain the suspect and deny her freedom.

“It cannot be alleged that she is a terror suspect and yet it has not been stated which terror group she belongs to, she cannot belong to unknown terror group,” he said 

Mr Chacha told the court that no explosive was recovered from the suspect and that he has a video demonstrating how the police planted the items in her house to frame her.

The defence lawyer rubbished the prosecution’s arguments and urged the court to disregard them saying they are baseless and based on speculations.

“She has a child aged three years, and we are told that she has received threats that she might never see her child again, we urge the court to give her protection,” Mr Chacha said

The magistrate is expected to deliver a ruling on Tuesday evening.