Mombasa senior resident magistrate, Rita Orora has ordered for a 15 days detention of three suspected terrorists arrested in Mombasa in December last year.

Two of the suspects.Musa Abdulnasir Kassim and Mistwah Abdulnasir Kassim were arrested at Likoni ferry crossing channel mainland on December 31, 2022 following intelligence reports while Aisha Abdalla Musa was arrested on January 1 this year at Kizingo.

The suspects appeared in court today Tuesday 3,January 2023 but were not charged after the prosecution through prosecutor, Yassin Mohamed, asked for more time to allow police to conclude investigations saying that the trio were facing grave charges.

Mohamed applied for the suspects to be remanded for 15 days.

The court however ordered the three be detained until January 10,2023 to allow police complete their probe and present them for plea taking.

In a sworn affidavit, CPL Japheth Yagan of the anti-terror police unit said officers from the Directorate of criminal investigation were investigating the suspects on accusations that they were members of a terror group contrary to section 24 of the prevention of terrorism act 2012, conspiracy to commit a terrorist act contrary to section 23[2] of the prevention of terrorism Act 2012 and being in possession of a firearm without holding a fire arm certificate contrary to section 4[2][a] of the fire arms act CAP 114 L.O.K.

The court heard that at the time of their arrest, Musa and Mistwah were armed with a Glock pistol loaded with 15 rounds of ammunitions.A substance suspected to be illicit drugs was also recovered.

Yagan said there was intelligence information that the suspects disguises themselves as motorbike delivery riders in Mombasa town to advance their terror activities.

CPL Yagan said police had information linking the suspects to a spate of robberies within Mombasa Island.

He further said that two of the suspects were on their way to meet two other unknown terror operatives at Diani in Kwale where they were planning an attack in a social entertainment joint during the New Year’s Eve prior to their arrest.

The officer also said the investigating officer had forwaded the fiream and ammunitions recovered from the suspects to DCI Headquarters Nairobi for ballistics exploitation and that they had also forwarded the suspect’s Cell phone for forensic analysis in the cyber forensic laboratory.