Man charged with killing Mombasa constable claims police biased
Robbery with violence suspects Kassim Ali, Mr Mohamed Abdallah Kassim, Mr Ali Omar Bwanaadi, Mr Mohammed Salim and Mohamed Mwachande Kombo in a Mombasa court on August 9, 2016. They are accused of fatally shooting constable Simon Lochodo and robbing him of his gun. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
Mr Kassim Ali was defending himself in a case where he is charged alongside four others with robbing a policeman of his gun that was loaded with 20 bullets on October 2, 2015.
But he was acquitted in May of the charge of being an Al-Shabaab member.
His four co-accused also denied taking part in the robbery, claiming they were at least 200 kilometres away from the crime scene on that day.
When the police heard my name and that I come from Lamu, they concluded that I was an Al-Shabaab member who had escaped from a hideout in Boni Forest, those were the words of Mr Kassim Ali to Mombasa Court.
Mr Ali is accused of robbing police constable Simon Lochodo his G3 rifle and fatally injuring the officer who was guarding Gulf African Bank at Bondeni, Mombasa.
The suspect, who was arrested at Busia border post, told the court besides his name and place of origin, he had done nothing wrong to deserve arrest by the police.
“When the officers at the road block looked at my identification documents and realised I come from Lamu, they said I had escaped from my hideout in Boni Forest,” he told Mombasa Senior Resident Magistrate Edgar Kagoni.
'ARMED ROBBERY'
The suspect was defending himself in a case where he is charged alongside four others with robbing Lochodo his gun that was loaded with 20 bullets on October 2, 2015.
He is charged together with Mr Mohamed Mwachande, Mr Mohamed Salim, Mr Mohamed Abdalla and Mr Ali Omar Bwanadi.
The charge sheet states that the suspects while armed with a gun, robbed the slain officer his rifle with bullets worth Sh75, 600, the property of National Police Service and immediately before the time of such robbery, fatally wounded the said officer.
Mr Ali said he was going to visit his ailing aunt in Busia when detectives arrested him on allegation he was on his way to join Al-Shabaab terrorist group.
ACQUITTED
The suspect who is a resident of Lamu said after the news of his ailing aunt, he decided to travel to Western.
“I was then arrested and escorted to Busia Police station where I was briefly detained before being driven to Nairobi and later Mombasa to face terror charges,” he said.
He was charged with seven counts, including being a member of Al- Shabaab terrorist group, being in possession of bomb making materials, bullets and two firearms.
But he was acquitted in May of the charge of being an Al-Shabaab member.
Mr Ali said he was at his home in Lamu on the day he is alleged to have robbed the slain officer in Mombasa.
“I have never handled a gun and I don’t know how to use it. All these charges against me are fabricated with no solid evidence,” he said.
ALI'S CO-ACCUSED
His co-accused also denied taking part in the robbery, claiming they were at least 200 kilometres away from the crime scene on that day.
Mr Salim said he was in Malindi tending to his farm when the incident which he learnt from the media happened.
“When I learnt through the media that I was being sought by the police, I presented myself to Malindi Police Station, but they told me they didn’t have a problem with me and that I was a person of interest to their counterparts in Mombasa,” he said, adding that he travelled later with his father to Mombasa to meet the investigators.
Mr Bwanadi said he was fishing in Lamu and was shocked when he was arrested and charged with the offence.
The suspects through their lawyers Yusuf Aboubakar and Chacha Mwita have asked the court to acquit them, arguing that all the charges against them in other courts, that had a bearing on the current ones, had been dismissed for lack of evidence.
