Court orders deportation of British terror convict
British terror convict Jermaine John Grant is escorted out of the Shanzu Law Courts on May 16, 2013.
British terror convict Jermaine John Grant will be deported to his motherland after the High Court in Mombasa allowed the government to kick him out of the country.
Justice Ann Ong’injo on Wednesday issued an order directing the ministry concerned to deport Grant after he cleared the jail terms imposed by various courts in Mombasa.
“The application by the State , through the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) is allowed. Upon completion of his sentence, the respondent will be repatriated to his country of origin by the Cabinet Secretary responsible for immigration in accordance with the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act,” said Justice Ong’injo.
Appearing in court virtually from Kamiti prison, where he is currently serving his sentence , Grant, who did not have legal representation, did not oppose the application to deport him.
“I have no problem with the application. I have no objection,” said Grant when asked to respond to the application by ODPP through State Counsel Bernard Ngiri.
Mr Ngiri told the court that the trial court did not issue an order for the deportation of Grant upon clearing his jail terms.
The prosecutor asked the court to call for and examine the record of the criminal proceedings of the subordinate court to satisfy itself as to the propriety of the sentence passed on Grant.
According to the ODPP, the lower court that tried and convicted Grant should have made orders to the effect that the convict should be removed from and remain out of Kenya upon completion of his sentence or imprisonment.
“We ask the court to proceed and grant the prayers as pleaded by the ODPP,” said Mr Ngiri.
The State described Grant as a British national and a suspected terrorist based on his criminal records as contained in court documents.
Grant pleaded guilty to the offence of being unlawfully present in Kenya and the trial court convicted and sentenced him to serve two years imprisonment.
Grant finished serving his two-year sentence on June 24.
The Nation understands that his other jail terms will come to an end in August 2024.
He is currently serving nine years imprisonment for nine offences, including being in possession of explosives.
The explosives he was found in possession of includes acetone, hydrogen peroxide, ammonium nitrate, sulphur sublime container, four AA-size batteries and a conducting wire.
The materials were suspected to be intended for use in making explosives for launching a terrorist attack.
Grant was also found guilty of attempting to acquire Kenyan citizenship by registering a Kenyan birth certificate.
The State had submitted that the convict had plotted to bomb hotels popular with foreign tourists.
Grant was arrested for the first time in 2011 after batteries and chemicals were discovered in his Mombasa apartment.
At the time of his arrest, Grant was said to be sharing an apartment with another Briton, Samantha Lewthwaite.
According to reports, Lewthwaite, also known as White Widow, was married to one of the four suicide bombers who carried out deadly attacks on London public transportation on July 7, 2005.
Lewthwaite is still at large and wanted in Kenya on explosives possession and conspiracy charges.
In 2021, Justice Onginjo declined to overturn a four-year sentence handed to the Briton after he appealed against the sentence passed by the magistrate court.
The appeal was related to the offense of having explosive-making materials.
Grant had filed an appeal against his four-year prison sentence in 2019.
He had petitioned the High Court to overturn the sentence, claiming it was unjust, but the High Court denied his request.
