This archive report was first published on 8 January 2020.
On January 8, 2020, a man walked into a Mombasa church and made a shocking confession: he had been an Al Shabaab militant. The suspect, who claimed to have recently returned from Somalia, had gone to the church to seek prayers and confess his alleged involvement with the insurgent group.
After the confession, the pastor decided to call the police, who detained the suspect before arraigning him in court. Prosecutor Eric Masila explained that the suspect had gone to the church to be prayed for, but it was the pastor who called the police to arrest him.
The prosecution sought to detain the suspect for 10 days to allow investigations, and Chief Magistrate Ednah Nyaloti concurred, allowing police to detain him for 10 days. The suspect is cooperating with security agencies and is willing to give information that will help arrest more Al Shabaab returnees.
Prosecutor Masila said that police are seeking to analyse the suspect's mobile phone communication data to unravel links with other suspects. The case will be heard on January 23.
