TZ girl arrested en route to join Shabaab militants

Mombasa. A 19-year-old Tanzanian was among three young women arrested in Mombasa as they were allegedly on their way to Somalia to join Al-Shabaab militants.

Ms Ummul-Khayr Sadir Abdullah from Zanzibar, who was said to be the leader of the group, is being held at Nyali Police Station.  

The other two women, Ms Maryam Said Aboud and Ms Khadija Abubakar Abdulkadir, were being held at  Makupa and Kilindini police stations, respectively.

Yesterday, a court allowed police to hold them in custody for 20 days as they awaited to be charged.

Mombasa Senior Resident Magistrate Irene Ruguru allowed police to hold the trio after Kenyan authorities claimed that the women, all university students below 21 years of age, were attempting to sneak into Somalia to Al-Shabaab.

The Zanzibar government said it could not comment as it was yet to be officially notified of Ms Abdullah’s arrest and detention.

“That information has yet to reach us through official channels...we cannot say anything at the moment,” the Minister of State in the Second Vice President’s Office in Zanzibar, Mr Aboud Mohammed, said.

Efforts to contact police sources in Tanzania Mainland for comment were unsuccessful.

The suspects’ plea to be released on bond were turned down by Ms Ruguru, who said it was not in dispute that they were arrested while going to Somalia and were likely to abscond if released on bond.

According to the magistrate, it was important to consider the nature of the investigations and insecurity in Kenya before making the ruling on the bail. She said the 20 days would allow police to carry out investigations.

 “The right to liberty is not absolute as provided under Article 24 of the Constitution,” she said, adding that the reasons given by the prosecution to limit that right were plausible.

“The fact that the suspects have not been charged with any offence does not mean that they cannot be detained legally.”

Documents filed in court showed that the three women were arrested on March 27 at Elwak on the Kenya-Somali border in Mandera County, while attempting to cross into Somalia.  Prosecuting, Mr Eugene Wangila told the court that investigations were under way and that there were some exhibits that needed to be analysed.

Mr Wangila, who argued that his application was founded on law, said investigations are expected to cover the “larger” East Africa.

The women’s right to liberty, he said, is not absolute and laws on terrorism allow for detention of terrorism suspects for 90 days.

The suspects, through their lawyer, Mr Hamisi Mwadzogo, had opposed the application to have them remanded.

The women appeared calm in the dock as their lawyer told the court that the prosecution had not presented any evidence to back its request.

“No viable reasons have been placed before court not to grant the bail application,” said Mr Mwadzogo, who added that the court had not been told how the suspects were a threat to warrant their lock-up.

The lawyer said that investigations could still be carried out while the suspects were free.

“They can be given bond pending investigations, they have been cooperating with police,” said Mr Mwadzogo, who also urged the court to take judicial notice of what he called over-polarisation of the matter.

The court allowed the suspects to retain the right to communicate with their advocate and relatives while in police custody.The case will be mentioned on April 20.

Additional reporting by Syriacus Buguzi in Dar es Salaam