State seeks deportation of British terror convict Germaine Grant
The state wants British terror convict Germaine John Grant deported to his home country once he completes his 13-year prison term.
The state wants British terror convict Germaine John Grant deported to his home country once he completes his 13-year prison term.
Through the Director of Public Prosecutions, the state is now seeking the help of the Mombasa High Court to issue a directive on what to do with Grant once he has served his time.
The DPP has asked Mombasa High Court Judge Ann Ong'injo to request and examine the record of the lower court's criminal proceedings in order to satisfy herself as to the correctness of the sentence imposed on Grant.
The DPP has said that the lower court should have made order(s) to the effect that Grant should be deported from Kenya on completion of his sentence.
“It is proposed to this court to make an order that the trial magistrate ought to have made orders to the effect that in the alternative, a recommendation be and is hereby made to the Cabinet secretary responsible for immigration for removal of Grant from Kenya to his homeland in accordance with the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act,” the prosecution said in a letter to the court.
In the letter, the state described Grant as a British citizen and a suspected terrorist.
Two years in prison
Grant pleaded guilty and the court sentenced him to two years in prison for being unlawfully in Kenya.
Documents seen by the Nation show that Grant completed his two-year sentence on June 24.
However, his situation has been complicated by the fact that the court that imprisoned him has not clarified or ordered what should happen to him once he completes his sentence, as he is a foreigner.
He is currently serving a nine-year sentence after being found guilty of nine charges, including possession of explosives including acetone, hydrogen peroxide, ammonium nitrate, a sulphur sublime container, four AA-size batteries and a conducting wire.
The materials were suspected of being intended for use in the manufacture of explosives for a terrorist attack.
He was also found guilty of attempting to illegally obtain Kenyan citizenship by registering a Kenyan birth certificate.
He was convicted of conspiracy to improvise an explosive device.
According to the state, the convict had planned to bomb hotels popular with foreign tourists.
Grant was first arrested in 2011 when batteries and chemicals were found in his home in Mombasa.
Security officials claimed that Grant was sharing an apartment with British woman Samantha Lewthwaite, at the time of his arrest.
It was alleged that Lewthwaite, also known as the White Widow, was married to one of the four suicide bombers who carried out deadly attacks on public transport in London on July 7, 2005.
Possession of explosives
Lewthwaite remains at large and is wanted in Kenya on charges of possession of explosives and conspiracy.
In 2021, Justice Ong’injo refused to overturn a four-year jail term imposed on the Briton following his appeal against the Magistrate's Court sentence.
The appeal was for possession of explosives.
Grant had appealed against the four-year sentence handed down in 2019.
He had asked the High Court to overturn the sentence, saying it was unfair.
However, Justice Ong’injo said the sentence was lenient and therefore, the court would not interfere with the lower court's decision.
