- The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) applied on Friday last week to have the two detained for 14 days pending further probe.
- The DCI told Chief Magistrate Bernard Ochoi that they arrested Dancan Otieno and Calvin Odongo whom they were trailing from Central police station.
Image: The Star
A Magistrates court will today rule on whether it will detain two men arrested in a Black Toyota Prado allegedly containing hand grenades outside a house in Muthaiga.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) applied on Friday last week to have the two detained for 14 days pending further probe.
The DCI told Chief Magistrate Bernard Ochoi that they arrested Dancan Otieno and Calvin Odongo whom they were trailing from Central police station.
The vehicle in which they were using was allegedly intercepted along Muthaiga road while "trying to enter house number 44.
The driver whose identity remains unknown managed to escape.
The police told the court that they received several items when they arrested the two.
Among them were suspected four explosive hand grenades black in colour, two pocket phones, seven pocket chargers, three mobile phones and a national identity card belonging to one Eliah Karangu Waithuku.
"We didn't have time to conclude the probe as the two were arrested late in the evening. We seek the 14 days to subject the suspected hand grenades to the Bomb disposal experts for analysis," the court heard.
The DCI also said the two suspects need to be questioned by multiple agencies on the motive of the explosives due to the security danger they pose and an identification parade needs to be conducted.
Another reason they are seeking 14 days is to send the communication gadgets to the communication authority of Kenya to ascertain whether they are licensed and permitted to be used within Kenya.
Separately, a Mombasa magistrate court will start hearing witness testimonies today in the case against cult leader Paul Mackenzie and his 94 co-accused.
They are charged with manslaughter.
The charges stem from the Shakahola massacre, where 429 people lost their lives.
The Director of Public Prosecutions has lined up 422 witnesses.
Mackenzie and his co-accused, including 40 women and 55 men, face 238 counts of manslaughter.
They are accused of jointly killing 238 people in the Shakahola forest between January 2021 and September 2023, allegedly as part of a suicide pact related to the teachings of Mackenzie’s Good News International Church.
Mackenzie and his co-accused have pleaded not guilty to manslaughter charges.
In addition to these charges, they are facing separate counts of murder, terrorism and child cruelty in other courts across the Coast region, including Malindi, Mombasa, Shanzu and Tononoka.
In the manslaughter case, the first set of five witness testimonies is scheduled this week, from August 12-15