A Somali national facing charges of assaulting a Wajir politician on Tuesday filed an application to have his passport released.

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Jamal Mohammed is accused of allegedly assaulting Wajir politician Hussein Mohamed on September 2017 in Eastleigh, Nairobi.

Jamal who is also an American citizen asked the court to release his passport following the security situation in the country.

The accused person through his lawyer Abdirahman Warsame said that the security situation in Kenya following the recent attacks does not allow his client to walk around without identification documents.

Jamal who is also facing charges of being in Kenya illegally had surrendered his passport to the court for him to be granted bail after the prosecution told that court that he was a flight risk.

“I request the court to release my client’s passport due to security concerns within the country at this moment,” said lawyer Warsame as quoted by citizentv.co.ke.

Makadara Resident Magistrate Eunice Kimaiyo, however, dismissed Jamal’s application on grounds that the reasons given were not convincing to the court.

In the case, the court heard that the accused person assaulted Hussein outside a Mosque in Eastleigh leaving him with serious injuries on his left leg.

Jamal who has denied the charges is out on a surety bond of Sh300,000.

The case will be heard on February 14, 2019.