Court releases suspects in 2014 Gikomba grenade attack that killed 10

A Nairobi court Thursday acquitted three terror suspects who were linked to the May 2014 Gikomba Market grenade attack in Nairobi, where ten lives were lost and several others injured.

The suspects, who were denied bond and/or bail terms and tried while in police custody after the court noted how weighty and serious the charges they were facing were, had to be released today (Thursday), two years later on the basis that prosecution failed to prove their case.

“It is evident that the investigating officers never conducted identification parade for the witnesses to single out the first suspect,” the judgment read.

Milimani Court presided by high court judge-elect; formerly chief magistrate in that court, Justice Daniel Ogembo, noted that prosecution witnesses contradicted themselves in their witness accounts.

One witness claimed that he saw the first accused throw something that lasted for seven minutes before exploding, while the other witness said that the ‘thing’ he saw the man throw exploded immediately, yet they claimed to have been together at the time of the attack.

The first accused, Abdirahman Jamaal, was charged with two counts – commission of terrorist act and being in the country illegally, while the two women -Mariam Abdi and Joweriyo Hassan – were accused of conspiracy to commit a terrorist act and being in the country illegally.

The court, however, found them guilty of unlawful presence in the country, through their own admission that they entered the country via unclear entries.

The three, who were represented by advocates Chacha Mwita and Abdulhakim, have been fined Ksh50,000 each or serve 12 months in prison which upon completion they will be repatriated to Somalia.