Kenya jails woman for terrorism videos

20 January 2016 - 16:29 By Agency Staff
subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now
Image: Gallo Images/Thinkstock

A Kenyan woman has been jailed for five years by a Mombasa court for being in possession of videos related to terrorism.

The woman, named by the court as Amina Mwaiz Muange, reportedly pleaded guilty to several counts, including having the videos with the intention of using them for terror activities, and intention to harm.

Nairobi News reports that Muange was among a number of women arrested in India on suspicion of trying to join the terror group Islamic State. She was deported from India on December 12, 2015.

It is understood that Muange voluntarily and freely agreed to the guilty charge. The prosecution obtained a detailed plea agreement in which her confession was recorded on video and in writing.

The prosecution said Muange converted to Islam in 2004 and had since been trying to get into the terror cell.

"The accused stated that in 2004 while in Kisauni, Mombasa she converted to Islam and got married in 2007 but later divorced," the prosecutor said.

Muange is not the first woman to be arrested in the Kenya for trying to join a terror group.

According to The Nation, four women were arrested recently and released on bail for planning to join the al-Shabaab terror group as brides in Somalia.

Kenyan authorities say the group is responsible for several atrocities, including the recent attack on a Kenya Defence Forces Camp in Somalia, where as many as 60 solders are believed to have died.

Source: News24

subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now