Hiiraan Online
Thursday, August 04, 2016
Police officer Abdi Jelle Ali alias Abdimunaf Jelle when he appeared before Milimani Senior Principal Magistrate Martha Mutuku. (Photo: David Njaaga)
Nairobi (HOL) - A police constable from Embu town was charged with terrorism offences on Wednesday. He is accused of inciting terrorism through his Facebook posts in response to the Kapenguria police station attack on July 14.
Appearing before the Milmani Senior Principal Magistrate, Martha Mutuku, Abdi Jelle Ali or Abdimunaf Jelle did not enter a plea. He is expected to answer to the charges in his next scheduled court appearance on August 4th.
Seven police officers were killed in a dramatic hostage situation at Kapenguria Police station in West Pokot County. Abdi Hakim Maslah was quickly identified as the disgruntled officer behind the attack.
Jelle was arrested on July 19th after being accused of making inflammatory remarks on his personal Facebook account regarding the attack.
On July 16th he is accused of writing a post that read: "hahahh ati wanatueta Al Shabaab, hawa ni bure-kijana kidogo kurutu anaangaesha station muzima na kama commando kama mimi wote ningewamaliza bro,(they call us Al Shabaab, they are useless if a young recruit can hold hostage a police station what if it was a commando like me? I could have finished them all brother).
Sergeant Eric Mwiti from the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU) insisted the court not release Mr. Jelle citing that he is a security threat and that the charges that he’s facing are very serious making him more likely to flee or evade authorities. If found guilty Abdi Jelle could be facing up to 30 years behind bars. He added that being a police officer, if released on bond he would likely intimidate witnesses close to the case.