There was panic in a Mombasa Court after two terror suspects were found sketching the layout of the court premises.
The two Ms Feruz Hamid Abubakar and Shamsa Abubakar were arrested by Anti-Terror Police Unit (ATPU) and the phones where they were sketching the layout confiscated.
Hamid is facing terrorism charges together with her accomplice and sister Shamsha.
Among the nine terror-related charges that Hamid is facing is the possession of four electric detonators and two explosive boosters.
However, lawyer Chacha Mwita who is representing the suspects termed the arrests unconstitutional and asked the court to intervene.
In his presentation, Mwita argued that his clients were not informed about the reasons behind their arrests within the court premises.
"We have not been informed why they have been arrested and their phones confiscated. We have not seen a court order allowing the police to make an arrest," the lawyer stated.
On his part, State Counsel Eugene Wangila asked the court to ignore the matter and proceed with the hearing of the case facing Hamid and her sister Shamsha.
Ruling the matter that had seen the court proceedings temporarily halted, Mombasa Senior Principal Magistrate Henry Nyakweba ordered the officer in charge of security at the courts to file a comprehensive report on the arrests.
Hamid was arrested on January 7, 2017, at 2:00 PM in her Bondeni home, Mombasa County and was allegedly intending to use the explosives in commissioning terrorist acts in the country.
