Father of Thika Road blast suspect charged

Mr Sar Guracha Harohas is led out of the court on July 22, 2014. PHOTO | PAUL WAWERU | NATION

The father of a man linked to the twin explosions in commuter buses along Thika Road two months ago was on Tuesday charged with engaging in terrorism-related activities.

Mr Sar Guracha Harohas denied the two charges of supporting a terror outfit and threatening to kill a witness who testified against his son, Warque Dejene Sar, on July 4.

He was ordered to deposit a bond of Sh10 million and two sureties of a similar amount.

The court heard that Mr Guracha received alleged “blood money” amounting to Sh85,000, which had been wired to his cell phone for the “commission of a terrorist act.”

The charge stated that on May 8 in the Kiamaiko area of Nairobi, he received the money sent through an M-pesa agent identified as Cool Breeze Kakuma “which was meant for the commission of a terrorist act.”

The charge further stated that he solicited and gave support to a terror group.

RETALIATION AGAINST A WITNESS

Mr Guracha was additionally charged with retaliation against a witness.

The charge states that on July 4 at the Milimani Law Courts in Nairobi, he threatened one Paul Karanja Muchiri, a witness who had testified in the case facing his son, by uttering the words in Kiswahili, "Mbona unatoa ushahidi ndiyo kijana wangu afungwe, nitakuua."

The prosecution said the suspect intended to retaliate against a state witness in contravention of the Prevention of Terrorism Act of 2012.

Mr Guracha’s son, Sar, is in custody having been denied bail on the grounds that he was a member of the Al-Shabaab terror group trained in militancy and was a threat to national security.

He denied planting the explosives that simultaneously went off inside the two buses that were ferrying passengers from the city centre to Mwiki and Githurai 45 on May 4.

The attack killed two passengers and left scores injured.

A SIM card that detectives retrieved from the scene of the explosion helped investigators link the suspect to the explosions, the prosecution said.