Kenya deports British terror suspect linked to ‘White Widow’ Samantha Lewthwaite
British Terror Suspect Jermain Grant.
What you need to know:
- The terror suspect who has been linked to the White Widow Samantha Lewthwaite, is now being detained in London under the Terrorism Act.
Grant told the court that he did not have a problem with being returned to the UK.
Kenya has deported to the United Kingdom 41-year-old British terror suspect Jermaine Grant who has been in jail since 2011.
Grant was taken from Kamiti Maximum Prison after completing his 13-years sentence for various offences including possession of explosives.
His legal representative in Kenya told the Nation.Africa that Grant is already in the UK
Reports indicate that Kenyan security operators airlifted Grant back to the UK on Thursday, where he was arrested immediately after arriving at the Heathrow Airport.
The terror suspect who has been linked to the White Widow Samantha Lewthwaite, is now being detained in London under the Terrorism Act.
His deportation to the UK comes barely a year after the state through the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution asked the High Court to allow for his repatriation to his country after clearing his prison terms.
In the request made to the court in July last year, the ODPP asked Justice Ann Ong'injo to request and examine the record of the lower court's criminal proceedings in order to satisfy herself as to the correctness of the sentence imposed on Grant.
Lower court
The ODPP made this request since the lower court which tried and convicted Grant did not give an order on what should happen to him after clearing his sentence since he was a foreigner.
"It is proposed to this court to make an order that the trial magistrate ought to have made orders to the effect that in the alternative, a recommendation be and is hereby made to the Cabinet secretary responsible for immigration for removal of Grant from Kenya to his homeland in accordance with the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act," the prosecution said in a letter to the court.
Grant did not oppose this application, and told the court that he did not have a problem with being returned to the UK.
Grant pleaded guilty and the court sentenced him to two years in prison for being unlawfully in Kenya.
He was also convicted and jailed for nine-years for the offences including possession of explosives including acetone, hydrogen peroxide, ammonium nitrate, a sulphur sublime container, four AA-size batteries and a conducting wire.
The materials were suspected of being intended for use in the manufacture of explosives for a terrorist attack.
He was also found guilty of attempting to illegally obtain Kenyan citizenship by registering a Kenyan birth certificate.
He was convicted of conspiracy to improvise an explosive device.
According to the state, the convict had planned to bomb hotels popular with foreign tourists.
Grant was first arrested in 2011 when batteries and chemicals were found in his home in Mombasa.
Security officials claimed that Grant was sharing an apartment with British woman Lewthwaite, at the time of his arrest.
White Widow
It was alleged that Lewthwaite, also known as the White Widow, was married to one of the four suicide bombers who carried out deadly attacks on public transport in London on July 7, 2005.
Lewthwaite remains at large and is wanted in Kenya on charges of possession of explosives and conspiracy.
In 2021, Justice Ong'injo refused to overturn a four-year jail term imposed on the Briton following his appeal against the Magistrate's Court sentence.
The appeal was for possession of explosives.
Grant had appealed against the four-year sentence handed down in 2019.
He had asked the High Court to overturn the sentence, saying it was unfair.
However, Justice Ong'injo said the sentence was lenient and therefore, the court would not interfere with the lower court's decision.
