Anti-terror police seek more days to hold lawyer Chacha Mwita

Anti-terror police officers on Monday asked the court to allow them to hold lawyer Chacha Mwita for 15 more days, sparking a heated battle with his lawyers who insisted there was nothing new to investigate.

Through prosecution counsels James Machirah and Ken Amwayi, the Anti-Terror Police Unit (ATPU) told Kahawa Law Courts magistrate Gideon Kiage that Mwita had refused to provide passwords to his mobile phones hampering their investigations.

Machirah argued that the additional 15 days were justified under the law. He said a report from cryptocurrency company Binance indicated that Mwita had allegedly received funds from a group blacklisted as a terrorist entity in Kenya.

“The investigations team has received the Binance report confirming that the respondent received money from a designated terrorist entity. Search warrants have been obtained and M-Pesa statements for one number have been accessed, but statements for the other number are pending,” Machirah said.

Amwayi added that terrorism financing investigations are complex and could not be completed within the 14 days initially granted. He said Mwita was aware that the State would request more time.

Mwita’s lawyers, led by Martha Karua, Mbugua Mureithi, Prof Hassan Nandwa and Suyianka Lempaa countered that their client was being illegally detained to intimidate him.

Karua told the court that Mwita had been questioned only twice during the 14 days, with one session lasting five minutes.

She stressed that receiving payment for legal services is not a crime. “Chacha is an officer of this court. He should be allowed bail to go to his family. If they did not interrogate him for 14 days, these additional 15 days will be the same,” she said.

Mureithi argued that Mwita had a right to remain silent and was not obliged to assist police in their probe. “I received similar treatment in Uganda, yet the officers had nothing on me. My client will not give his passwords, even if jailed indefinitely,” he said.

The State has alleged that the funds could have been used to recruit fighters from Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, DR Congo and Mozambique to join ISIS in Yemen. Prosecutors said the investigation was serious and required more time.

Mwita’s defence team maintained that as a lawyer, he deals with diverse clients and can legally receive fees from anyone, regardless of their background.

They noted that the cryptocurrency payments in question had not been traced and the alleged terror-linked entity was unnamed.

They said that Mwita was a lawyer and he already knew what was required of him and would therefore abide by all requirements of the court. Mureithi also questioned why the State had not disclosed the amount Mwita allegedly received.