MOMBASA: The widow of slain Muslim cleric Aboud Rogo who is facing three terrorism charges suffered a setback in court on Thursday evening after a magistrate suspended an order freeing her on a Sh1 million bond.
Haniya Said Sagar who was arrested at her Kanamai home in Kilifi County on September 14 will remain at Shimo la Tewa until October 7 when the state will argue its application to detain her for the period of her trial. Haniya a mother of seven whose husband was killed by suspected state agents in Mombasa on August 27 2012 was arrested after police claimed she was linked to the September 11 attack at Central Police Station through alleged mastermind Tasnim Yakub Abdullahi Farah who died in the raid. She and three women are on trial charged with two counts of failing to supply information that would have prevented the raid and conspiracy to commit terrorism.
Mombasa principal magistrate Diana Mochache freed Haniya on a Sh1 million after determining that the State had not supplied valid reasons to deny bail. She also rejected state claims that Haniya was likely to flee the jurisdiction of the court if freed on bond saying that as a widow the suspect was unlikely to disappear, leave her children and risk arrest in the process.
"Because of the first accused is a mother and her children are likely to be affected with her detention, she will not escape and if she does, police will find her. Therefore the court releases her on a one million bond, she deposits her passport with the court and report to the police every Tuesday of each month," said Mochache.
Haniya and her children beamed with joy as freedom beckoned but no sooner has the magistrate pronounced the freedom on bond than the State applied for the suspension of the order. State lawyers argued that Haniya is a flight risk and asked the magistrate to suspend her orders and indicated that they would move to the High Court to challenge Haniya's release if their prayers were not granted.
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"I have considered the application by the State to stay the orders to release the first accused (Sagar) and detain her for 8 days to allow the state make a further application to detain her to avoid delays in the case," said Mochache.
Mochache however declined to release Haniya's co-accused 25 years old Nasteho Ali Thalil, 22 years old Luul Ali Tahlil and 21 years old Zam Zam Abdi. The latter three have been linked by the State to Tasnim. They were arrested on September 20 and freed by a magistrate but were rearrested before leaving court and charged.
She said that there was not enough information provided by the latter three's lawyers to prove that the accused would not abscond if freed on bond.
Mochache ordered for a probation report on them including what their parents’ do, where they live, their relatives, what they have been doing since they finished school before she can make a ruling of their release on bond.
"The three others will remain in custody, I want a comprehensive probation report of all the accused on the family of the accused, what their parents do, where they live, their relatives, what they have been doing since they finished school before I can make ruling on their release on bond," said Mochache.
Senior state prosecutor Alexander Muteti had opposed Sagar's release on bond stating that she is likely to abscond court.
Muteti said that ISIS had claimed responsibility in the attack at the station where the alleged slain terrorists invaded the station with a petrol bomb and knives and injured two police officers.
"All the four accused are linked to ISIS which claimed responsibility of the attack in Central and the defence was downplaying on the national security," said Wamosa.
The four are accused that on September 11 this year at Central police station within Mombasa they conspired with slain terrorist, Tasmin Abdullahi Farah, Ramla Abdirahman Hussein and Maimuna Abdirahman to carry out a foiled terror attack at the station.
They are charged that on diverse dates between September 5 and 14 at Kanamai area Kilifi County and Mvita area within Mombasa consecutively, the four failed to disclose information which could have prevented the attack.
They also face another count of reporting the slain persons to police that could have led to their arrest and prevent the said attack at the station.
All the accused denied all the three charges before Principal Magistrate Diana Mochache.
