Somalis charged with being in the country illegally

By TOBIAS CHANJI

Several suspected Somali nationals arrested during a police raid on an Islamic institution at Macknon Road Township along the Mombasa-Nairobi highway have been arraigned in court.

Ninety-four Somalis, including 41 minors, were arraigned before a Kwale court on Monday evening charged with being in the country illegally.

The suspects were arrested at Mahamudai Islamic School at Macknon in Kinango sub-county, Kwale, after the police raided the institution following a tip off that the school was radicalising youths. The operation was led by Kwale OCPD Richard Mugwai.

The suspects appeared before Principal Magistrate Elizabeth Usui in Court One and her counterpart C.M Njagi in Court Two. The children were, however, released but their mothers locked up pending further investigations.

Kinango OCPD James Mutungi said some of the arrested suspects arrived last Thursday for a ceremony at the Islamic school. “Many of the foreigners had no documentation of being in the country,” said Mutungi on phone.