A man was on Friday arrested after he confessed in a Mombasa church that he was a former Al Shabaab militant.
According to The Standard, the suspect walked into one of the churches in Mombasa (name withheld for security reasons) and asked for prayers after he revealed that he had ditched the Somalia based terrorist group.
However, after prayer, the pastor called the police and the man was arrested and arraigned in a Mombasa court on Tuesday.
“The suspect had gone to church to be prayed for. It is the pastor who called police to arrest him," Eric Masila, a prosecutor at the Mombasa court told the Standard.
The prosecutor said the suspect confessed he had recently returned from Somalia. Chief Magistrate Ednah Nyaloti directed that the man be held for 10 days.
“The suspect is to remain in police custody for 10 days pending investigations,” said Ms Nyaloti.
However, the case prosecutor asked that the man's identity be concealed for security purposes.
"It is important to have the identity of the suspect protected. He is cooperating with security officers and is willing to give us valuable information on the operations of the Somali-based terror group,” said Masila.
Police officers are expected to analyse the man's sim card to trace his communication data with other suspects.
“We will check data in his sim cards that we believe have crucial information that can lead to the arrest of more suspects,” said Masila.
The case will be heard again on January 23, 2020.