Guard was found taking photos of Garissa attack scene
From left : Mr Rashid Charles Mberesero, Mr Osman Diriye Dagane, Mr Sahal Diriye Hussein, Mr Hassan Edin Hassan and Mr Mohamed Ali Abikar appear in a Nairobi court on June 11, 2015 to face charges of massacring 148 people at Garissa University College on April 2, 2015. A witness told court on March 9, 2016 that Mr Sahal Hussein was found taking photos at the terror attack scene yet he was off duty. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
Mr Sahal Hussein, the security guard at the university, was supposed to be off duty but after the attack.
Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU) officers — who had joined the rescue team — found him taking photos of the dead on his mobile phone.
Mr Husein is charged alongside five others with carrying out the terrorist attack and being members of the Al-Shabaab.
An employee of Garissa University College was arrested while taking pictures of the gory terror attack scene where 148 people were shot dead by Al-Shabaab, a court heard Wednesday.
A witness told the court that Mr Sahal Hussein, a security guard at the university, was supposed to be off duty but after the attack, Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU) officers — who had joined the rescue team — found him taking photos of the dead on his mobile phone.
“He could not account for his actions at the crime scene, which had been secured,” said Mr Geoffrey Busolo.
He said after the attack, there were officers who were assigned to man the campus until the ATPU team arrived.
Mr Busolo said the guard could not explain why he was taking the photographs yet he was not even supposed to be on duty. An order had been issued prohibiting anyone taking photographs except for designated scenes of crime personnel.
Mr Husein is charged alongside five others with carrying out the terrorist attack and being members of the Al-Shabaab.
Lawyer Steve Mogaka had sought to know how the suspects were arrested after the attack. The witness recalled that out of the five terrorists, who attacked the university, four were killed while a fifth was found hiding under a bed.
“The accused did not respond when we introduced ourselves as police officers. We kept on calling if there was anybody who was nervous to come out and be rescued,” said the witness.
Mr Busolo said Mr Rashid Mberesero, a Tanzanian, who gave conflicting accounts of his presence under the bed, was arrested.
“He first said he was a student after I pulled him out, but later said that he was visiting a friend, whom he could not identify on further probing. He also could not tell us what subject he was studying at the university,” said the witness.
Wednesday, the prosecution presented 713 live bullets that were in military bags found on the dead terrorists. Four AK 47 rifles were also displayed in court with five mobile phones, three of which were recovered from the slain terrorists. Hearing continues.
