Four people charged over abduction, sodomy of Mombasa blogger

Four individuals were on Tuesday arraigned at the Shanzu Law Courts in Mombasa County and charged with abduction and sodomy.

Abdul Athman, Violet Adera, Esther Muthoni and Haji Babu, are accused of abducting and sodomising a Mombasa-based blogger on September 12, 2024.

"They were charged with conspiracy to commit a felony and abduction with intent to confine," the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) said in a statement on X.

Additionally, Hassan and Babu were charged with gang rape and assault with intent to cause actual bodily harm.

They denied the charges before Senior Resident Magistrate Robert Mbogo.

The suspects similarly applied for bail but the prosecution team, led by Anthony Musyoka, opposed the plea on grounds that the quartet are a flight risk.

Musyoka similarly told the court that the Investigation Officer handling the case requires more time to complete investigations into the incident.

The court will deliver a ruling on the bail application on Thursday, September 26, 2024.

The blogger alleges that a group of about 20 county officers abducted him at his home in Bamburi, assaulted and sodomised him at Miritini area before dumping him near the Mwakirunge dumpsite.

The incident, the victim told Citizen TV, happened at around 8am.

He added that his attackers broke into his house and demanded that he accompany them to an unknown place to apologize for criticizing the Mombasa County government.

"They claimed they would return me home later," the victim said.

But that was never to be, as the victim was allegedly taken to a hotel and bundled into a private car. His hands and legs were allegedly bound.

The victim was then wrapped in a sack and taken to Miritini area where he claims he was assaulted and sodomised by two unknown people. Before this, he claims to have been interrogated on why he was 'attacking' the Mombasa County government.

"Two guys who were not part of the group that picked me up, undressed me and took turns on me," said the victim.

He was later taken to Mwakirunge wrapped in a sack and was rescued by a Good Samaritan who assisted him after hours of questioning.

The matter was subsequently reported at the Bamburi Police Station.

On September 21, police arrested three suspects believed to have been part of the group of individuals who planned and sodomized the 25-year-old blogger.

According to the county criminal investigation officer James Lelia, one of the suspects was a male accused of committing the actual sexual assault, while the other two were females believed to have planned the crime.