Majengo man linked to terror remanded

Jibril Masudi and Mohamed Guloba (right) at the Milimani Law Courts recently where they were charged with being found with explosives and narcotic drugs. Hamad Murithi Munyi is accused of employing Guloba, a terror suspect. [PHOTO: FILE/STANDARD]

NAIROBI COUNTY: A Nairobi court has declined to release on bail the owner of a clothes store in Gikomba market alleged to be the employer of the four suspects arrested with explosives and narcotics in Nairobi’s Majengo slums three weeks ago.

Hamad Murithi Munyi has been accused of hiring his co-accused and Mohammed Yusuf Guloba, a Ugandan as loaders at his clothes store in Gikomba market, knowing that it was a cover up to carry out terrorist activities.

Milimani Senior Principal Magistrate Peter Ndwiga remanded Hamad pending the hearing and determination of his case after he pleaded not guilty.

He was further accused of employing Guloba yet he knew he was in the country illegally and did not have valid documents.

Guloba and his co-accused Jibril Kaima Masudi, Mwanaidi Wanjiku Mwema and Julius Kariuki Maina were charged in court after they were found with 62 pieces of commercial magnum explosive gel tubes on July 19 at a house in Mathare slums.

They were also found with 34 stones of bang weighing 8kgs with a street value of Sh100,000.

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The four denied the charges and were released on Sh10 million bond with an alternative of Sh5 million cash bail.

The magistrate said the prosecution presented to court compelling reasons that prompted him to remand Munyi at Industrial Area Prison awaiting his trial on September 11.

“The accused being the employer of some of the suspects already before court and others who fled if released on bail may jeopardise ongoing investigations before they are completed. He is also likely to interfere with potential witnesses who are expected to testify in court once trial begins,” prosecutor Susan Kuruga said.

The prosecutor also told the court that two bank accounts of the accused are being probed to establish if they were linked to recent terrorism activities in the country, adding that granting the suspect bail would allow him to accomplish his mission.

Defence lawyer Chacha Mwita argued that his client was entitled to bail despite the charges he is facing. Munyi is expected back in court on August 25.