By Isaiah Lucheli
Nairobi, Kenya: A man charged on suspicion of having hurled a grenade that wounded two people at a hotel in Eastleigh has been set free by a Nairobi magistrate’s court.
Chief Magistrate Kiarie Waweru set free Mohammed Jaylan Mohamed who had been in police custody for over five months after being charged with engaging in terrorism activities for lack of evidence.
The ruling comes barely two days after two Iranians were sentenced to life imprisonment for terror related charges by the same magistrate.
In his ruling the magistrate said that the prosecution had failed to prove that Mohammed was the one who had hurled a hand grenade that had wounded the two people in the incident that occurred on December 28 last year.
According to the charge sheet, Mohammed was facing two counts of having hurled a grenade at Buffalo guest house on the material day within Eastleigh estate injuring Julias Mulira and Meitiake ole Salash.
Kiarie noted that during testifying the investigating officers had said that they had arrested Mohammed on suspicion after he had been found outside his house and the only explanation he gave them was that he was praying.
According to the judge the explanation that the accused was outside his house was not adequate to incriminate him as there were other people who were also outside their houses following the incident curious to witness what had happened.
The magistrate also added that claim by police that a spent shell of the grenade was found on the suspect’s house was not adequate to convict the suspect noting that the watchmen had in his testimony said that the shells fell also on his house.
“The watchman who testified in the suit had in fact exonerated Mohammed over the claims as he explained that fragments of the grenade also fell on his house,” he said.
Kiarie dismissed the investigating officers testimony noting that there was no way the fragments of the grenade would have landed in Mohammed house if he had hurled the grenade.
“The investigating officer failed to follow vital leads in the case. It is clear that the accused did not throw the grenade I therefore set him free,” he ruled.
