By BRUHAN MAKONG
Sunday January 21, 2024
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki, through gazette notice published on Friday, said there is sufficient information linking the suspects to the planning and financing of terrorism.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki/FILE/MINA
The Government has officially designated eight individuals under the Prevention of Terrorism Act for aiding terrorism.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki, through gazette notice published on Friday, said there is sufficient information linking the suspects to the planning and financing of terrorism.
Those listed notice include; Ramadhan Adan, Yusuf Abdalla Mustafa, Philip Kariuki Karanja alias Rashid Abdalla, Milan Mahugu Simba and Bahati Bora Uzima.
Others named are David Wambua, Simon Karuga Gitau and Musa Abdallah Kassim.
“In exercise of the powers conferred by section 3 (3) of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, the Cabinet Secretary for Interior and National Administration declares the following entities to be specified entities for the Act,” the notice read.
Under Section 3 of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, the Interior Cabinet Secretary can designate an entity following a recommendation by the Inspector-General of Police.
The affected entity is given an opportunity to contest the designation before the declaration
“Upon receipt of the recommendation under subsection (1), the Cabinet Secretary may, where he is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to support a recommendation made under subsection (1), declare, by order published in the Gazette, the entity in respect of which the recommendation has been made to be a specified entity,” Section 3(3) of the Act provides.
Appeal avenueAfter publication, the Cabinet Secretary is required to inform the specified entity in writing of the decision and the reasons within seven days from the date of declaration.
The specified entity may, apply to the Inspector-General requesting for the revocation of an Order made under Section 3(3) of the Act.
Section 3 further provides that a specified entity which is aggrieved by the decision of the Inspector-General may apply to the High Court for a review of that decision within a period of sixty days from the date of receipt of the decision.
The designation comes at a time when the country faces heightened threats of terrorism from the Somalia-based Al-Qaeda linked terrorism outfit, Al-Shabaab.
Counties in the Northern and Coastal region including Mandera, Garissa, Wajir and Lamu have come under frequent attacks from the terrorist outfit who have targeted security personnel and civilians residing and operating near the Kenya Somalia border.
The latest terrorist incident happened on January 18 in Mandera leaving a police officer dead and three others injured.
During the incident an explosive concealed in a donkey cart exploded during a routine inspection at the Mandera-Bula Hawa border crossing.
Police believe the bomb was remotely detonated by suspected members of Al-Shabaab.