Kenyan charged with being a member of terror group ISIL

A Kenyan man arrested in Tanzania has been charged with terrorism.

Shida Msanzu who has been charged a second time with terror-related activities was yesterday accused of collecting information in a bid to conduct a terrorist act and being in possession of items connected to commission of a terrorism act.

Appearing before Senior Principal Magistrate Boaz Ombewa, he was also charged with being a member of a terrorist group.

It was alleged that he professed a munasireen in 2022, meaning that he is a member and a fighter of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). The information is contained on his Facebook account.

At the same time, the court heard that was arrested on April 3, 2023 at Bukoba, Tanzania with a mobile phone containing extremism videos.

He denied the three charges.

Principal Prosecution Counsel James Machira urged the magistrate not to release Msanzu on bail as he is likely to bolt and is a repeat offender.

Machira argued that terror charges are grave and the accused is likely not to appear in court if released.

According to the State, Msanzu was arrested by Tanzanian authorities and handed over to ATPU on April 10.

The 28-year-old was arrested while trying to cross over to neighbouring Uganda, where it is believed he wanted to join the Islamic State in Central African Province (ISCAP) in Congo.

Police believe that he crossed over to Tanzania from Kenya on December 29, 2022. He stayed in the country planning his move until he was arrested. Investigators also believe that he was in constant contact with other militants from Somalia, Mozambique and DRC.

He was arrested by a multi-agency team in Takaungu Vuma, Kilifi County on May 26, 2017.

Msanzu is not new to court. He was arraigned in court in 2022, where he was charged with four counts of radicalisation, possession of articles connected to the commission of terrorism act, collection of information for Al-Shabaab and being a member of a terror group.

He denied all four charges and the Malindi Court freed him on December 16, 2022, for lack of enough evidence.

Police also say that Msanzu can manufacture IEDs/homemade explosives, and suicide vests and that he can handle weapons.

It is believed that Msanzu was radicalised when he joined the Majlis Maarifaa Madrassa in Kikambala Kilifi in late 2012.

This is after he started sharing radical content through his Facebook page "Mujahideen Yaqub" where he sought to influence his friends and followers to travel to Somalia and join Al Shabaab.

Msanzu is the third Kenyan to be arrested in connection with terror activities related to Congo.

Abdirazak Muktar Garad was arrested in Congo for masterminding an attack on a Church in North Kivu near the Uganda border that left 10 people dead and at least 39 others injured in January 2023.

Authorities in Congo said the 29-year-old who hails from Wajir County is a member of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) terror group which operates from Uganda.

The other Kenyan Salim Rashid Mohamed alias Chotara was arrested in January 2022 in Congo after a video emerged of him butchering a Congolese soldier.