The Nation (Nairobi)
Jillo Kadida
25 June 2009
Nairobi — A man who Kenyan authorities allege has links to terrorists was Thursday found guilty of being in the country illegally.
Abdul Fatah Abubakar Abdi, a Somali national holding a Kenyan Identity Card was consequently ordered to pay a Sh50,000 fine and in default serve six months imprisonment before he can be deported back to his country of birth.
The man was charged with four offences but found guilty by chief magistrate Gilbert Mutembei on three counts only.
He was convicted on counts of obtaining registration by false pretence, being unlawfully present in the country and failing to register as an alien.
The magistrate while passing sentence noted that Abdi was not responsible for his being illegally present in the country as he was brought in when he was a minor.
However the magistrate said Abdi is guilty as charged because he made false presentation to identity card vetting committee in order to obtain an ID.
Abdi's lawyer Mr Mbiu Kamau pleaded with the court to be lenient with his client as he is a father of four and sole bread winner.
In his mitigation he further said that his client has been in custody since his arrest 11 months ago as he was denied bail.
Abdi was first deported out of the country on February 19, 2008 as he was believed to be a threat to national security.
According to an affidavit filed in court by the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit Abdi at one point provided hospitality to terror suspect Swaleh Nabahan alias Hashim.
However after his deportation the man returned to Kenya illegally and was arrested on July 15 2008 in Nairobi's Eastleigh estate.
According to the investigating officer in the case Mr Newton Mwiti, Abdi was involved in preparations to commit felony namely killing and maiming indiscriminately by use of violent means.
This, the officer said, is evidenced by his association with Mr Nabhan who is alleged to be one of those who carried out the bombings at Paradise Hotel in Kikambala which killed 15 people.
The court was told that it is because of his associations with terror suspects that necessitated the government to preserve national security by taking an executive action to remove him out of the country.
Abdi was born in Kismaiyu in Somali but brought into the country at the age of 8 by his mother Khadija Bakari who stays in Mombasa.
He joined Sofaa Muslim primary in 1992 but two years later relocated to a college of Islamic studies Kisauni, says a statement he recorded with police.
It was in 2002 when he applied for Kenyan Identity card, the court was told.
He approached one of his Islamic teachers Abubakar Abdi to appear as his father and his aunt Halima to stand as his mother. The man succeeded in acquiring the national Identity card which has been in his possession since then.
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