A court in Kwale on Monday acquitted 17 Al-Shabaab suspects for lack of enough evidence in court.
Kwale Chief Magistrate Dominica Nyambu said the prosecution did not find enough evidence against the accused who had been detained for seven days.
The 17, aged between 18 to 27, were suspected to be recruits of a terrorist group and in possession of counterfeit products.
They were arrested on January 28, 2019, in a two-roomed house at Samburu area in Kwale County according to Kinango OCPD John Kemboi.
“We suspect the youth were being organized to join terror groups. It is strange to find a group of youth in a house,” Kemboi earlier stated.
The suspects denied allegations accusing the police of harassment and confiscating their mobile phones.
They also claimed they had been employed as salespersons in a private company. The company had several branches in the Coast Region.
Their identification documents revealed they were from Tana River, Kilifi, Nakuru, Baringo and Kisii Counties.
The release comes after three Dusit Hotel terror suspects were freed from a Nyeri Court due to lack of enough evidence.
Officer in charge at Nyeri police station, Cyprian Gitonga, stated they had completed investigations but found the suspects not guilty of any offense.
