Kenya: Four Women Charged Over Shabaab Links

Four women were yesterday charged in court with being members of al Shabaab after 30 days of investigations.

The four, who are said to have connections with people in Syria, denied the charges before Mombasa senior principal magistrate Richard Odenyo.

Khadija Abdulkadir, Maryam Aboud and Umulkhayr Abdulla are accused of committing a crime as al Shabaab members on March 27 at Elwak, Kenya-Somalia border in Mandera county.

Halima Ali denied committing a crime as an al Shabaab member on April 3 on the Kyumvi-Nairobi road, Machakos county.

Defence lawyers Hamisi Mwadzozo and Chacha Mwita urged the court to release their clients on bail, pending the hearing of the case.

They said it is their clients’ right to be released on bail.

Mwadzozo and Mwita said the constitution provides that any accused person has a right to freedom as any other Kenyan.

However, state prosecutor Eugene Wangila objected to the bond application, saying the four will abscond.

Wangila urged the court to consider that some of the women were arrested on their way to Somalia.

He said they were sneaking out of the country since they had no proper travel documents.

“Kenya has got laws regarding crossing borders and the accused persons had not adhered to them as stipulated by the country,” Wangila said.

The four had no documents showing they were leaving Kenya for Somalia.

Wangila said the accused’s accomplices are still at large and if released, the four will work together to commit other offences.

“The accused persons have links as far as Syria and Sudan and if released might not appear in court for the proceedings,” he said.

The ruling on the bond application will be made today.