The fifth suspect linked to the assault of Mombasa blogger, John Bruce Kajira, was arraigned in court on Tuesday and charged with causing actual bodily harm to the victim.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (ODPP), in a statement on Tuesday, indicated that the suspect was presented at the Shanzu Law Courts and charged with four offences related to the incident that was reported on September 13.
Among the charges included conspiracy to commit a felony and abduction with intent to confine.
The prosecution team told the court that the suspect conspired with four other individuals to abduct the blogger before committing the act.
Shanzu Court Magistrate further heard that the suspect assaulted the blogger with kicks and fists causing him actual bodily harm. The suspect denied all charges while appearing before Shanzu Senior Resident Magistrate Robert Mbogo.
The suspect was arrested at Lunga Lunga along the Kenya/Tanzania border trying to flee and was remanded at Shimo La Tewa prison until November 15 pending bail application.
This arraignment came six weeks after four suspects were arrested on September 24. They were charged with abduction and sodomy of the blogger in the same Court. The four denied the charges.
The incident saw Mombasa Lands County Executive Committee (CEC) for Lands and Urban Planning Mohamed Hussein and Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Nassir roped into the investigations but they both denied involvement.
The victim was reportedly abducted on September 12 by a group of at least ten individuals from his residence in the Bamburi Mwisho area by breaking down the door.
They deceived Kajira into believing that he was being taken to meet the governor to apologise for a social media post that allegedly insulted the governor and his family.
Once abducted, he was transported to an undisclosed location where he reportedly suffered severe abuse including sexual assault.
After the ordeal, the perpetrators placed him inside a sack and abandoned him in a thicket while he was unconscious where he was rescued by a good samaritan.
The court has since adjourned proceedings until November 15 when it will rule on their application for bond or bail of the fifth suspect.
