Juma
Hamisi and his wife Misaid Athman when they appeared before court, the
two have been remanded. [PHOTO: KELVIN KARANI/STANDARD] By KELVIN KARANI
MOMBASA, KENYA: A man and his wife have been charged in Mombasa with
child abduction and possessing material inciting terrorism.
They
were arrested last week in Mombasa's Likoni slums following the March 23
massacre of worshipers at the Joy of Jesus Church and the infants they
are accused of stealing are the children of a terrorism suspect killed
by police in February last year. Juma Hamisi and Misaid Athman, a
Tanzanian were arraigned before magistrate Justus Kituku Wednesday
facing the charge of possessing materials with information contrary to
the law. The prosecution alleged that the couple was arrested with
material on Digital Versatile Disks DVDs and Video Compact Disks VCDs
which police claim have messages inciting terrorism. The DVDs and VCDs
include some entitled Khilafa ni Suluhisho , Nasaha Kwa Vijana, Dua
for Mujahidun, Cowboys in Iraq, Rijal, Lfe Under the Shade and two
other unmarked DVDs which police allege were seized when they raided the
couple's house on Tuesday last week. On April 3 this year, police
received court permission to detain them for more days to enable
investigations and now the prosecution claims the material has been used
in instigating the commission of terrorism act by "providing and
facilitating the provision of training instructions to any person or
member of a terrorism group in the practice of military exercise and
movements. "This was with the knowledge that such instructions are
intended for the use in the commission of terrorist act in contrary to
the terrorism act." In the second count they are accused of  "denying
eight years old Abdukarim Shaban and seven years old Hudhafa Shaban
their rights to live and be cared for by their parents Fauzia Nasonga
(their mother) by taking them away from the custody of their mother."
See Also: Christian, Muslim clerics hold talks on insecurity The two
suspects who are unrepresented pleaded guilty to the first charge but
denied the second. Police told the court that the two infants were
children of the late Shaban Namusanga who was shot dead on February in
the year 2013 after being suspected of being a terrorist. His wife, the
mother of the children relocated to Kakamega where she is alleged said
to have remarried to one Musa Kassim. She is now facing the charge of
neglecting the children. The two suspects pleaded with the magistrate to
set them free on bond to take care of their children.