BY SAM ALFAN.
The Director of Public Prosecution has urged a Nairobi court to put on defence five Garissa University College terror suspects charged with over 150 counts of terrorism.
The DPP through his assistant Duncan Ondimu informed Milimani chief magistrate Francis Andayi to put the accused persons on defence as they have proved a prima facie case against them.
In his submission Ondimu said that the circumstantial evidence is too strong against all the accused person in regard in participation in the commission of the terrorist attack.
“There is no doubt that a terrorist act was committed on April 2,2015 at Garissa Univistry College jointly with others not before court participated in the planning and execution of the terrorist attack,” says Ondimu.
Ondimu is seeking Rashid Charles Mberesero a Tanzanian, Mohamed Ali Abdikar, Hassan Aden Hassan, Sahal Diriye and Osman Abdi to be pub on their defence over the Garissa university terror attack which took place on April 2,2015 and 147 students were killed and several others injured .
He say that it is clear from the evidence presented by the witnesses that all accused had a common intention to plan and execute the said attack.
“This was an unlawful purpose and all the accused persons were part of the group, sharing a common purpose in execution of their criminal enterprise,” said Ondimu in his submissions
He said that several witnesses among them student informed the court that their colleagues were killed mercilessly by the terrorists while they were lying down.
He says that according to 144 postmortem reports tabled in court show that the deceased human beings died gruesome deaths.
“A survivor of the terrorist attack, testified that she witnessed the gruesome killing of her college mates. She mentioned some of her fried whom she saw lay dead,” say the prosecutor.
He further submitted that the evidence adduced by the prosecution is overwhelming against al the accused person and should thus be placed on their defence in respect to the 150 counts.
Ondimu said that the court should take judicial notice of the existence of Al-Shabaab, terrorist group.
“The terror group has been advocating and had indeed meted out violence towards non- Muslims here in Kenya. This has all been in its twisted view of furthering its extremist agenda as well as fight against the Kenya government incursion into Somalia where it is based,” he said.
The prosecution further claims that there is no doubt that the Al-shabaab does exist and that it is a terroroist group as reflected in the Kenya Gazette notice.
He said that they have proved beyond reasonable doubt that the five accused person Rashid Charles Mberesero is a Tanzanian national who was unlawfully present in the county during the time of his arrest.
During the hearing of the case the one of prosecution witnesses’ senior scene of crime police officer Frank Anunda produce in court 59 documented photos of Garissa victims, four gunned down terrorists and the fifth accused person Rashid Charles in the dock who is said to be the only live terrorist found in the college.
He said that their investigations revealed that that the two of the dead terrorists were lawyers who had graduated from University of Nairobi and hailed from Mandera County.
Anunda also said that the third terrorist was from South Sudan and the four was a student in Mandera County.
The court heard that the terrorists accessed the university through the main gate and first entered security guard room where they killed two guards before storming Lecturer Room Hall where the students were having morning prayers and were the first victims of the attackers.
In the case four AK 47 firearms, 713 live ammunition and 1,729 spent cartridges used by terrorists during Garissa University College terror attack has since been produce in court as exhibits.
