Mombasa Senator Hassan Omar at a past event. He has called for the release of Mr Mohammed Abdul Malik Bajabu, a terror suspect held at Guantanamo Bay detention camp in the US.
Friday, July 24, 2015
Mombasa Senator Hassan Omar has asked US President Barrack Obama to order the release of a Kenyan terror suspect held in Guantanamo Bay detention camp.
Mr Hassan said there was no reason to continue holding Mohammed Abdul Malik Bajabu yet he had been cleared over suspicion that he was involved in terror activities.
“We are asking President Obama to release Abdul Malik because he is innocent,” Mr Omar said at Longo primary school, Likoni.
Mr Bajabu, born in Busia in 1973, holds Kenyan citizenship and was arrested in February 2007 on suspicion of plotting a bomb attack in Mombasa. He was transferred to Guantanamo Bay detention camp in March 2007.
He is alleged to be a member of the East Africa Al-Qaeda network and was suspected to have participated in the facilitation of weapons and the planning of terrorist acts against the US interests according to the Joint Task Force (JTF) at Guantanamo Bay.
“This man is innocent and I appeal to President Uhuru Kenyatta to ask the US president to release him since all the other suspects from Britain and Australia who were arrested at the time and have been cleared,” he said.
President Obama is expected to arrive in the country Friday for a two day visit.
At the same time, Mr Omar asked President Obama to refrain from addressing issues to do with human rights for homosexuals, saying there were more pressing issues to talk about during his visit.
“We have our cultures and they should be respected,” he said.