Court declines to lift ban on bus firms linked to Shabaab

The four bus companies whose operations were suspended over alleged terrorism links suffered a setback on Tuesday after a court declined to lift the ban.

The bus companies, which have challenged the allegations, were seeking orders to lift the suspension pending the hearing of the case.

Justice Weldon Korir said inasmuch as he agreed that the companies were counting losses as a result of the suspension, public security was paramount and the State took the action to curb terrorism.

(Read: Four bus companies sue over Al-Shabaab link)

The judge said the State’s argument, that the issuance of such orders at this point would frustrate investigations, was valid.

He told the bus companies to file their substantive motions for the proper hearing of the case and directed all the parties to file submissions.

Hearing on the case was set for June 8, 2015.

The four bus companies, which were plying the northeastern Kenya routes, moved to court seeking to lift the freezing of their bank accounts as well as the suspension of their insurance licences.

In two cases, Sabrin Bus Services Limited, E-Coach, City to City Bus Services limited and G-Coach have sued the Attorney-General, the Inspector-General of Police, Interior Cabinet Secretary, the Counter Financing of Terrorism Inter-Ministerial Committee, the Insurance Regulatory Authority and the Central Bank of Kenya.

Through lawyers Issa Mohammed and Alibhai Hassan, the travel Companies challenged an April 7 gazettement of an official list of individuals and entities alleged to be supporters of terrorist group Al-Shabaab.

They claimed that they only became aware of the allegations through the media, their banks and the insurance companies.

ONE-DAY NOTICE

They also claimed that the gazette notice only gave them a one-day notice to prove to the authorities why the companies should not be declared supporters of Al-Shabaab.

The companies alleged that since the list was published a few days after the Garissa University College attack that left 148 people dead and of which Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility, the decision is selective as it dents their ethnic and religious background.

They also alleged that the declaration in the Gazette notice describing them as a “specified entity” has wider implications beyond freezing of their accounts under the Terrorism Act 2012 because they have been equated with a terrorist group whose memberships attracts sanctions.

They alleged that as a result of the listing, IRA and the CBK purportedly ordered the Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB), Gulf African Bank, First Community Bank and Invesco Insurance Company, who have been listed as interested parties in the suit, to freeze all their accounts as well as suspend their insurance licences.

They want to stop the suspension of their business licences and grounding of their operations.

The buses travel through Nairobi, Mwingi, Garissa, Habasweri, Wajir, Dadaab and Liboi.

The companies had also raised issues of ethnicity in court and accused the State of targeting them due to their religious and ethnic affiliations.

They told the court at the start of the hearing that more than 63 of their buses plying between the northeastern region and Nairobi have been grounded for more than a month, cutting their only source of livelihood without any evidence of their involvement with the terror group Al-Shabaab.

The owners of G-Coach, E-Coach and City to City Bus Services said the decision to cancel their insurance policy without being heard was purely on grounds that they were Muslims.

They told Justice Korir that the closure has made it impossible for them to pay their workers and repay their loans since their vehicles were procured through loans.

“The applicants have been named as suspects in other matters but have in no way breached their contract with Invesco insurance to occasion the action that has been taken by the insurance firm,” the suit papers read.