NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 16 – The Muslim cleric whose arrest led to protests in Marsabit during which three people were killed, will remain in police custody for a further 30 days.
Nairobi Magistrate Martha Mutuku issued the order in answer to an application made by the Anti-Terror Police Unit Monday, when they sought more time to interrogate him.
She however stipulated that should the police fail to substantiate their suspicions in that period, he should be set free.
The cleric, Guyo Gorsa, is suspected of having ties to the Al Shabaab terror group and of radicalising Kenyan youth in support of their cause.
Through State Counsel Duncan Ondimu, the ATPU sought to be allowed to hold Sheikh Gorsa for the period with a view to undertake “detailed interviews” with him and obtain from him information on his suspected co-conspirators.
According to ATPU, it is believed that the Muslim cleric has other associates who are yet to be apprehended but their arrest is being vigorously pursued by security agencies within and out of the country.
The ATPU submitted to the court that the intelligence they’ve gathered shows the suspect to have been in constant communication with a number of well-known terrorist based in Somali and within Kenya’s borders.
Gorsa had opposed the application through his advocate insisting that police have no basis to detain him for four weeks pending trial.