This archive report was first published on 11 December 2019.
On Tuesday, two Kenyan men were charged with traveling to a terrorist-designated country, failing to report their departure to government authorities, and sneaking out of Kenya.
The suspects, Idris Opwora Wesonga and Joseph Juma Odhiambo, allegedly committed the crimes between October and November 2019.
According to court records, the men did not report their exit to Somalia at any immigration office in the country, and they were also charged with crossing into Somalia at an undesignated location.
Police records indicate that the two men left Mumias for Mandera in October and rented a house where they stayed for a week before crossing into Somalia.
It is suspected that they were heading to Baidoa to join the terrorist group Al-Shabaab.
After crossing the border into Bulahawa, they allegedly hired a taxi to take them to Baidoa, where they were arrested and handed over to the Kenya Defence Forces.
The KDF then handed them over to the Anti-Terror Police Unit in Mandera, which preferred the charges against them after investigations.
The police report also indicated that the suspects had East African passports, but they were not stamped to legalize their travel to Somalia.
They also had driving licenses and Kenyan national identity cards.
During the court hearing, the suspects denied the charges before Mandera Principle Magistrate Peter Areri.
The case will be mentioned on January 10, 2020, for a ruling on their release on bond.
