NAIROBI, A man and his wife were on Thursday arraigned in a Nairobi court charged with being in possession of explosive material (grenades).

Hassan Mahati Omar and his wife Fardos Mohammed Abdi who appeared before senior Principal Magistrate E. Nderitu face another charge of being a member of Al-Shabaab terror group. They denied the charges.

The court heard that on April 1 at Madina Apartments in Eastleigh Section Seven, Nairobi County, the two accused persons who are husband and wife were found in possession of explosive material namely two grenades intended to cause grievous harm to the members of the public.

They are also accused of being a member of Al-Shabaab terror group who have waged terror attacks in Kenya. According to the prosecution, the grenades were meant to be used for terrorism activities.

State Prosecutor, Chief Inspector Isaiah Mwinga however opposed bail application by defense lawyer Chacha Mwita representing the accused persons.

The prosecutor told the court that investigators have not completed investigation, saying 20 more grenades are yet to be recovered. He asked the court to remand the accused in custody to enable police complete investigation.

But lawyer Mwita objected to the prosecution request, saying the accused persons have constitutional rights to be released on bail pending the hearing of the case.

He said that police have already violated the rights of the accused by detaining them in custody for more than 24 hours as required by law.

The magistrate, however granted the prosecution application and ordered the accused to be remanded in custody until April 17, when they will be brought back to court further direction.

The accused persons were arrested during police crackdown on criminals at Eastleigh suburb of Nairobi following the recent blast in which six people were killed and several others injured.

Source: Xinhua