A court will on Wednesday rule on if police will hold lawyer Chacha Mwita for 20 days. Mwita who has been defending terror suspects and other high profile cases in Mombasa will remain in police custody until November 19 when court will rule on Anti-Terror Police Unit’s request to detain him for 20 days.
He is under investigations over alleged links to terror financing after his arrest on Friday in Mombasa.
Kahawa West Magistrate Gideon Kiage is expected to rule on Wednesday whether he will be detained for 20 days.
He was taken back to custody pending the ruling. He interacted with his lawyers at court when he was brought there.
Anti-terrorism police said Friday they had disrupted what they describe as one of the most intricate terrorism facilitation networks identified in the country in ongoing fight against extremism.
Nine suspects, including Mwita were arrested in an operation in Mombasa ahead of planned arraignment.
This followed extensive intelligence-led inquiries and a series of coordinated operations by the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU).
Officials said the probe had extended to the neighboring countries.
Central to the matter are approximately ten young recruits who were arrested earlier this year while allegedly preparing to leave the country for a mission.
Their detention has reportedly been pivotal in guiding investigators toward the broader network.
The recruits are said to have been influenced online and through local contacts before being moved through Kenya to Puntland, in northern Somalia, and later to Yemen.
These areas are described by security officers as transit points for individuals aiming to connect with ISIS affiliates as pressure mounts on the group’s strongholds elsewhere.
“Kenya serves as a corridor. Once they reach Puntland, arrangements are made to cross the Gulf of Aden into Yemen, where they link up with established ISIS cells,” an official said.
The lawyer, known for previously representing several terror suspects, is reported to have first interacted with the extremist network while defending radicalised youths facing terror-related charges in Kenyan courts.
“Over time, he is believed to have moved from solely offering legal services to becoming involved in the wider facilitation network.”
Authorities allege that some of his legal fees were linked to extremist financiers associated with ISIS and that he later agreed to help coordinate various aspects of the network’s activities.
Authorities say the lawyer used cryptocurrency to fund terror operations. His legal representatives denied the claims.
The lawyer is expected to face charges related to terror financing, membership in a terror organisation, and participation in a criminal network, with the specific counts to be confirmed when the suspects appear in court.
Investigators claim to have assembled what they term “overwhelming” material connecting the group to financing, logistical support, and the movement of recruits to ISIS cells abroad, particularly via Puntland to Yemen.
The latest operation is the result of months of surveillance and financial analysis.
The ATPU reports having traced a significant financial trail linking the arrested individuals to the recruitment and movement of young Kenyans to conflict zones.
Police sources said the material evidence includes bank transfers, hotel booking records, cross-border travel documents, and various digital transactions processed through cryptocurrencies, which operate outside traditional banking systems.
“This is a well-structured facilitation network,” one security official said.
“We have financial experts, advocates, tour operators, hoteliers, and boda boda operators working together to move money, individuals, and information. The documentary material we possess is substantial.”
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