Muhyadin Ahmed Roble, AfricaNews reporter in Nairobi, Kenya
Six Somali nationals and a Tanzanian sailor have been charged in Mombasa court after security forces found weapons, including rocket-propelled grenade launcher, two Ak-47 rifles, and 947 rounds of 7.8 mm inside a ship at the Mombasa port. Five of suspects who were arrested 14 December faced other charges of being in Kenya illegally.
The seven suspects were remanded at Shimo La Tewa jail and subject to payment of Sh10 million ((US$135,000) each. The hearing of the court will be on February 4, 2010.
Officials said the suspects landed at Kilindini aboard a Sierra Leone-flagged ship on Tuesday.
In Nairobi, the Attorney General took over trial of illegal arms cache case against five suspects on Wednesday. State counsel Vincent Wohoro rejected the freeing of the five on bond saying investigations had not been ended while the arms were also a threat to Kenya’s security.
But suspects' lawyer, William Mogaka, denied that suspects planned to commit a felony in Kenya.
Somali bandits have made millions of dollars in ransom payment for hijacking ships using Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden.
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