Thursday, November 08, 2012
By RICHARD MUNGUTI
Three men on trial over terrorism have strong links to Al-Shabaab militants who are fighting the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) in Somalia, a magistrate was told on Thursday.
The State therefore urged senior principal magistrate Lucy Mbugua to turn down a plea to reduce the bond for Mr Abdallah Kioko Ahmed, Mr Tuwa Djibril Ibrahim and Mr Lenox David Swaleh from the Sh2 million granted last month.
“I urge this court to take judicial notice of the war between KDF soldiers and Al-Shabaab insurgents who have a strong base in Somalia and beyond,” Chief Inspector Nzau Musangi, the prosecutor, submitted.
“These suspects are linked to the wide network of the terror group,” he added.
He told the court that stringent bail terms should have been set for the three whom he said are “trying to swindle the government by alleging that police took about Sh20,000 when they arrested them.”
Inspector Musangi also produced medical records showing the accused were not tortured while in custody.
“Reports from Kenyatta National Hospital indicate that none of the suspects was tortured while in police custody,” he said.
He said the suspects wanted to malign the police force by alleging that they were tortured soon after their arrest.
He dismissed as an after thought allegations that police took Sh13,000 from Mr Ahmed, Sh4,000 from Mr Ibrahim and Sh3,000 from Mr Swaleh on October 18 when they were arrested at Pumwani Majengo in Kamkunji, Nairobi.
Poor backgrounds
The suspects’ lawyer, Mr Chacha Mwita, urged Ms Mbugua to reduce the bail terms saying “they come from poor backgrounds.”
He said that Mr Ahmed is an excavator, while Mr Swaleh is a miraa vendor and Mr Ibrahim a shoe hawker at the Gikomba Market.
The magistrate will decide on the bail request on November 12 when the accused will appear in court.