Dusit Attacker’s mother to be detained

The state on Friday opposed bond terms for terrorist Ali Salim Gichunge’s mother Sakina Abdalla.

She is charged with failure to disclose information related to terrorism acts.

Sakina denied withholding information pertaining to her son’s whereabouts between 2015 and 2019. She told Milimani chief magistrate Francis Andayi the last time she was in communication with her son was 2015.

Sakina is accused of breach of her duty to disclose the whereabouts of her son, which would have prevented the Dusit terror attack on January 15.

She asked why her former husband is not facing similar charges.

In an affidavit, anti-terrorism police unit’s inspector Monica Githaiga said data from Sakina’s mobile phone show she has been in constant communication with several phone numbers located in Somalia that are believed to be her son’s.

Githaiga said investigations are ongoing to identify the individuals who might have been in communication with Sakina and Gichunge in relation to terrorist activity and particularly the Dusit attack.

The detective said Sakina is likely to interfere with investigations if she is released on bond.

She is the second suspect to be charged over the attack that claimed 21 lives and injured scores of others.

Diamond Trust Bank Eastleigh branch manager Sophia Mbogo has been charged with aiding and abetting.

The state sought additional time to conclude investigations against Mandera-based Imam Mukhtar Ali, who is said to have been recruiting and radicalising young men.

State counsel Eddie Kaddebbe sought 20 days to allow the ATPU to conclude investigations against Mukhtar.

He said the 30 days custodial orders sought on January 21 have not been sufficient. “The nature of investigations is fairly complex because they involve analysis of electronic gadgets, including 100 mobile phones’ call data records,” Kaddebbe said.

But Mukhtar’s lawyer Gitobu Imanyara opposed the request, saying there is no need to keep his client in custody.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *