Mombasa Man Charged With ISIS Membership and Terrorism Offences

A 26-year-old man appeared before Senior Resident Magistrate Gladys Olimo in Mombasa on Tuesday, facing three charges under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2012.

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions alleges that Bakari Omar Kingi was a member of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) on or before September 30, 2026 at the Mtito Andei Jamia Mosque and Islamic Centre in Makueni County, together with other individuals not yet before the court.

He is also accused of possessing articles linked to a terrorist act, specifically an Itel A60S mobile phone equipped with two Safaricom SIM cards that allegedly held audio recordings, images and videos associated with extremist groups Al-Shabaab and Al-Qaeda.

The charge sheet lists recordings titled “Kimya Kimya”, “Cheche za Moto”, “Al Qaeda Masimba”, “Ndugu Kufuzu ni kwa Jihad” and “Nairobi Tutafika”, which prosecutors say were intended to encourage a terrorist act.

A third count alleges that Kingi collected information contrary to Section 29 of the Act, with the same mobile phone cited as the source of the material.

Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Brenda Ogada opposed the accused’s release on bail and requested a pre-bail report to inform the court’s decision.

Magistrate Olimo ordered the Probation and Aftercare Service to prepare the report within 30 days, and set a pre-trial hearing for November 10, 2026.