A seafarers association official charged with issuing an alarming statement over the hijacked Mv Faina ship has been released. Seafarers Assistant Programme Co-ordinator Andrew Moningeti Mwangura was on Tuesday released on a surety bond of Sh200,000.
Mr Mwangura now wants the Mombasa court to refer his case to the Constitutional Court. Through his lawyer, Mr Francis Kadima, Mwangura claimed police violated his constitutional rights by illegally detaining him.
He was in police custody for five days after being charged last week.
Mr Andrew Moningeti Mwangura, who was arrested for publishing a false statement concerning cargo aboard the hijacked Ukranian vessel, MV Faina. He has been released on bond. Photo: File/Standard
Kadima told Mombasa Principal Magistrate Teresia Mwangi police had applied that his client be remanded at Central Police Station in Mombasa for five days, to enable them make more recoveries at his house and other areas, but failed to do so.
When the case came for mention on Tuesday, the prosecution was to ascertain to the court whether they had concluded their investigations or not. Prosecutor Joseph Bahati said the police had concluded their investigation. He did not object to Mwangura’s release on bond.
Mwangura is also facing a charge of being in possession of four rolls of bhang (cannabis sativa) with a street value of Sh200.
Violated rights
Mwangura, who was arrested by police at The Standard offices in Mombasa, was charged that on September 28 this year at Diamond Trust Arcade, along Ngong Road, he published a false statement in The Standard. It said that the military hardware on the MV Faina was destined for Southern Sudan.
Kadima had said the police had become malicious in their charges.
“Never at any time did my client go to Changamwe, since he has been in police custody all along. I read mischief in the second charge,” he said.
Bahati said the police application to detain Mwangura was merited and denied that his rights had been violated.
The magistrate said she needed more time to read the details, since the matter was being mentioned in her court for the first time. She will rule on the case on October 13.
Lifted from The Standard
About the Author
How do you know that the statement he published was false? It seems to have been confirmed by many other sources, including unofficial sources in Washington