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| Africa Horn |
| Man in court over links to al-Shabaab |
| 2010-12-23 |
| [Daily Nation (Kenya)] A suspected member of the proscribed al-Shaabab terror militia, was charged on Wednesday over the Monday blast in Nairobi of a Uganda-bound bus. Mr Aboud Rogo Mohamed, denied that he was a member of the al-Shabaab terror group. Mr Mohamed is one of six suspects acquitted by the High Court over the bombing of Paradise Hotel in Kikambala, Kilifi District on November 28, 2002, which killed 15 people. His cell phone number was found in a notebook recovered from Mr Albert Olando Mulanda who was killed in the blast on Monday. Mr Mohamed was charged alongside Abubakar Sharif Ahmed Abubakar alias Makaburi. They denied charges of engaging in organised criminal activities by being members of Al-Shaabab. Lawyer Mbugua Mureithi for both suspects applied to have them released on bond or cash bail but the plea was opposed by Chief Inspector Peter Ouma who said they were a security threat to the public and the State. Mr Ouma said Mr Mohamed's phone number was "recovered from a notebook retrieved from the body of a jacket wallah at the Kampala Coach bus stage." "Information and preliminary investigations indicate that the accused is a member of the proscribed organised criminal gang known as the al-Shaabab." The court heard that Mr Mohamed "has been moving in and out of the country through the porous Kenya-Somali border using unofficial entry points." Nairobi principal magistrate Grace Macharia was also told that Mr Mohamed, who was also acquitted over the attempted shooting down of an Israeli plane in Mombasa in 2008, is believed to be a trained thug. Mr Mbugua wondered why the suspects were accused of being members of al-Shaabab yet they were not charged with terrorism. He also said there was no law barring Kenyans from travelling to Somalia. The lawyer asked the court to ignore allegations that Mr Mohamed is a trained thug. "Where was he trained, by who and for what"? Ms Macharia remanded the accused until Friday when their bail application will be considered. |
| Posted by:Fred |