British citizen Jermaine Grant has been handed a four-year sentence by a Mombasa court for being in possession of explosives.
Grant will now serve a total of 13 years; he is already serving a nine-year term for charges of trying to obtain a Kenyan passport using false pretences.
Chief magistrate Evans Makori, in his judgment, said he had considered mitigation by the prosecution and the defence.
Makori said he had considered that the matter had taken years to be concluded and that Grant had remained in custody all that while.
Grant was charged alongside his wife Warda Breik and Frank Ngala after being arrested at a house in Kisauni alleged to have been owned by terror suspect Samantha Lewthwaite also known as the “White Widow”.
He was charged that on December 20, 2011, in Kisauni, he was found in possession of explosive-making materials, preparation to commit a felony and being in possession of explosives.
The prosecution had sought to have Grant sentenced to seven years as outlined in the law. The state said the crime was serious as the harm would have been grievous if the plans of making explosives had materialised.
The state further wanted the court to consider the previous convictions of the accused.
However Grant, through his lawyer Chacha Mwita, said the state’s submissions were hearsays. He urged the court to consider that the Briton has been in custody for eight years as the case delayed.
But senior principal magistrate Joyce Gandani said the prosecution had proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused person lived in the house where the chemicals, which are key components in making explosives, were recovered.
Chemicals recovered in the house included ammonium nitrate and sublimed sulphur. Also recovered was a flash disk that contained videos of how to assemble an explosive device.
Gandani noted it was clear the accused person was in the process of making an explosive, which could have been deadly if it materialised.
She further said it was evident that Grant was aware of the chemicals inside the house he lived in, contrary to claims that he was a guest.
“I find an excuse by Grant that he was invited to stay in the house a day before his arrest unconvincing. It is evident he was aware of what was inside the house,” she said.
The magistrate acquitted Grant of two other charges, that of being in possession of explosives and conspiracy to commit a felony which could have caused loss of life.
Gandani said the two charges were similar and the prosecution ought to have preferred a single charge.
She further said the prosecution failed to prove that Grant, alongside two other accused persons, had agreed to commit a felony.
She said no communication was produced to prove that the accused persons had been in communication.
Gandani acquitted the two other accused persons for lack of sufficient evidence.
She said it was evident that Breik had only met Grant once before their wedding and therefore she could not have been aware of her husband's doings.
The magistrate also noted Ngala was brought into the case unknowingly as he was a stranger to Grant and his wife.
(Edited by Otieno Owino)
