By Martin Mwaura
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
An Al-Shaabab member has been jailed for 21 years by a Mombasa court. Salim Chagawa Karisa aka Issa was arrested last year in an operation by officers against youths who had returned from Somali after receiving training from the al Shabaab.
He appeared before resident magistrate Abraham Gachie accused of planning terror activities in Mombasa and Nairobi. The prosecution said Issa was armed with a loaded Glock Austrian-made pistol at Bagras Café in Mtwapa. Police said the cafe was run Issa’s accomplice who fled during the swoop.
The pistol was to be used to commit felonies in the country. Issa was also charged with altering the firearm’s serial number and unlawfully having 10 bullets.
He was jailed for seven years on each of the three counts. The sentence will run concurrently. Before his arrest ATP U officers said he was under surveillance and planned to attack targets in Mombasa and Nairobi. ATP U officers who testified in court, said Issa crossed into Somali between 2010 and 2012 and had been highly trained by the al Shabaab before his arrest.