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- Aug 23, 2016
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Badister Charo Katana, 25, a self-confessed Al Shabaab militant at the Mpeketoni court in Lamu County. [Jane Mugambi, Standard]
A man police claim trained with Al Shabaab in Boni forest in Lamu has been jailed for 70 years after pleading guilty to three terrorism charges. Badister Charo Katana, who was not represented by a lawyer during the trial, was linked to killing of security officers and civilians in Lamu since 2014.
Despite pleading guilty, the suspect, who was arrested last week and denied bail, begged for leniency claiming he joined Al Shabaab to escape poverty and unemployment. He said he had abandoned the terror group due to sickness and after disagreeing with its ideologies. He also said he deserved mercy because he was the sole breadwinner for his siblings and extended family.
The State submitted that Katana was involved in terror attacks in parts of Lamu and Tana River between June 18 and July 18, this year, and had confessed to detectives that he was earning Sh24,000 per month from the terror group. He was charged with being a member of Al Shabaab, after having confessed on July 18, this year, at Maisha Masha village within Witu. He faced a second count of being found in possession of military attire and boots with intent to commit terrorism. The third count was that on June 18, this year, he collected information on military and security operations in Lamu and Tana River and passed it to Al Shabaab in the forest. Mpeketoni Senior Resident Magistrate Calisters Sindani convicted him on the three counts under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. "On the first count, the accused is sentenced to serve 30 years in prison. On the second count, he is sentenced to serve 20 years. On the third count, the accused is sentenced to serve 20 years," ruled the magistrate.
Read more at: Lamu court jails Al Shabaab member for 70 years
