A London-based political activist was on Thursday, February 2, arraigned in court after accusing political leaders from Mombasa of criminal activities and claiming that the Mombasa Governor used government funds to plan Raila’s birthday.
The man was accused of publishing false information on his YouTube channel insinuating that Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Sharif Nassir used funds allocated to the disabled to plan and host Azimio leader Raila Odinga’s 74th birthday party.
In addition, the activist faced four other counts of publication of false information against Abubakar Joho, the brother of former Mombasa County Ali Hassan Joho and Mombasa County Assembly Speaker Aharubi Khatri.
According to the investigating officer of the case, Abdulahi Hussein, the activist accused Abubakar Joho of illegally importing firearms from Afghanistan and Pakistan through the port of Mombasa.
Hussein added that the accused claimed that Abubakar later sold the firearms to the Al-Shabaab militants in Somalia.
Moreover, the man was accused of claiming that Speaker Aharubi Ebrahim Khatri was arrested in his house because of being in possession of illegal firearms and drugs.
Hussein told the court that police officers were yet to determine the true identity of the suspect after he was found in possession of two passports that identified him with different names.
The activist, however, denied all the charges before Mombasa Senior Resident Magistrate Rita Orora and requested to be granted bail.
"It is not true. The claims were made up by the police. I am a sick man, and police cells are not five-star hotels. Keeping me in those cells is equivalent to a death sentence," the activist stated.
However, the investigating officer told the court to deny him the bail request arguing that the suspect was a flight risk.
He additionally stated that the accused was in possession of crucial information that would help the authorities identify key suspects in the trafficking of weapons.
“The accused is in possession of crucial information that may lead police to unravel the identity of the man behind a dangerous arms trafficking syndicate however he has declined to cooperate with investigators.
“We are also concerned that if he is released on bond, he will flee the country because we have yet to determine how he is a British citizen with two different identities,” Hussein stated.
Hussein further stated that the claims were made between March 9, 2021, and January 20, 2023.
The investigators also notified the court that following the suspect’s allegations on social media, the human rights group Haki Africa wrote to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions(ODPP), calling for investigations.
