Couple facing terror charges to stay in remand longer
An Eastleigh couple facing a charge of being in possession of two hand grenades and committing a terrorism act will have to wait longer to know if they will be released on bond.
This is after the prosecution was on Thursday given time to respond to a second application by a defence lawyer to have the accused Mr Hassan Mahati Omar and his wife Fardosa Mohamed Abdi released on bond.
Nairobi acting senior principal magistrate Ms Elena Nderitu said it was fair to grant the prosecution time to respond to the application, noting that the police file was not initially with the prosecutor in court.
The accused denied the charges and have been held in remand at Industrial Area and Lang’ata women’s prison respectively.
In making a second application to have the accused released on bond, lawyer Winston Ngaira told the court that it is not proper practice to arrest, detain and start conducting investigations.
“The accused are not a flight risk, they are presumed to be innocent. There are no compelling reasons given to deny the accused bond,” said Mr Ngaira.
Prosecutor Isaiah Mwirega said investigations are not complete and that since the accused arrest was highlighted by media, police are yet to make progress.
The accused, who denied the charges against them, allegedly were found in possession of the grenades with serial numbers not visible intended to cause grievous harm to the public.
The couple also allegedly being members of Al Shabaab was found in possession of the grenades which were meant to be used for terrorist activities.
According to the prosecution, the offence was committed on April 1 this year at Madina Apartments in Eastleigh Section 7 within Kamukunji, Nairobi County.
Mr Mwirega had during the taking of plea opposed to the accused release on bond saying they are accused are a security threat to the country and its citizens.
The magistrate directed the case to be mentioned on April 24 when the prosecution is expected to repond to the application by the accused to have them released on bond.
The case has been fixed for hearing on June 25.