Two found guilty of holding bombs

By LUCIANNE LIMO

A Nairobi court has convicted two Iranians charged with being in possession of dangerous explosives.

Chief magistrate Kiarie Waweru Kiarie found Ahmed Mohamud and Said Mausud guilty of planning to commit a felony and being in possession of 15 kilogrammes of RDX explosives in Mombasa.

The court noted RDX is the most powerful explosive used by the military. The offence carries a maximum of 15 years in jail. The accused’s lawyer Kirathe Wandugi pleaded with the court to give them until Monday to submit their mitigation.

Delivering his verdict, the magistrate asked Kenyans to appreciate the police for arresting the culprits and saving the country from a major catastrophe. Police said the two Iranian terror suspects had reportedly confessed planning to detonate a series of 30 killer bombs across Kenya at once.

“Kenyans needs to thank God for saving this country. It is by God’s grace the accused were stopped from committing the heinous act,” the magistrate said yesterday. He lauded the police for acting swiftly and arresting the two suspects.

 “We should appreciate the police when the county’s security is taken care of because in the past we always accuse them when something goes wrong,” Kiarie said. The accused were charged with being in possession of 15 kilograms of RDX explosives in circumstances, which indicated they were armed with intent to commit a felony.

The offence was committed on or before  June 20 last year at Mombasa golf course along Mama Ngina drive in the port city. They denied the charges before Principal Magistrate P C Biwott.

In March, Kiarie put the two accused on their defence saying they had a case to answer after carefully considering the evidence presented by prosecution witnesses. Last year June, the Iranians led police to a hideout in Mombasa where they seized 15 kilogrammes of RDX, an explosive material. The RDX was in two grey rucksacks neatly wrapped in blue polythene bags.