PHOTO: Ms Beatrice Wekesa testifying in an inquest into the killing of controversial cleric, Sheikh Aboud Rogo on 28 April 2014 at the Mombasa Law Courts.. She testified that that the cleric was shot dead by an assailant of Arabian-Israeli appearance. PHOTO/DAILY NATION.
An inquest into the killing of controversial cleric, Sheikh Aboud Rogo, resumed yesterday, Monday, with a witness testifying that the cleric was shot dead by an assailant of Arabian-Israeli appearance.
The killing of the cleric described by Kenyan and Western security agencies as an Al-Shabaab recruiter took place on the Malindi-Mombasa road on August 27, 2012.
Ms Beatrice Wekesa told Mombasa chief magistrate Maxwell Gicheru that the attacker was travelling in a white Subaru. He shot one of the tyres of the matatu in which Sheikh Rogo was driving his wife Haniya Said Sagar, children and father-in-law Said Saggar Ahmed to Mombasa town from his Kanamai residence.
“He then sprayed the vehicle with bullets until it veered off the road. The attacker was a man in his 20s, with skin complexion like that of an Arab or Israeli. He then said ‘shit’ before turning to us, and placing a finger on his mouth as a gesture to warn us we keep quiet,” said the witness.
Ms Wekesa further told Mr Gicheru that Sheikh Rogo was killed right in front of her as she was seated in a matatu next to the driver travelling in the same direction as the slain cleric’s white van and the attacker’s car.
The witness said the shooting took place 300 metres from Bamburi Police Station, just at the foot-path to the Jomo Kenyatta Public Beach.
While being cross examined by senior principal counsel Alexander Muteti, Ms Wekesa testified that the attacker’s vehicle overtook their matatu and then moved onto the lane on which Sheikh Rogo’s vehicle was. It went closer before the attacker opened fire.
“Our driver slowed down after the Subaru overtook us. Then shooting suddenly started. We all feared for our lives. We remained there watching the attacker who had opened the window with his head and hands out,” added Ms Wekesa.
The witness testified that after firing several bullets at Sheikh Rogo, the attacker turned to them with his index finger on his mouth to signal them to shutup before speeding off in the direction of Mombasa Island.
A second witness, former Bamburi police officer Erastus Gitari, told the court that when he arrived at the scene he saw Sheikh Rogo’s widow Haniya Said Sagar injured on her right leg, her father Said Saggar with left hand injuries, and her two children. Mr Gitari testified that he collected 13 spent cartridges of an AK-47 rifle at the scene of the shooting.
“The deceased wife said it was police who had killed her husband. We were stopped from collecting his body by people who included Sheikh Abubakar Shariff Makaburi (recently killed in a similar way),” said Mr Gitari.
The hearing continues on May 12, 2014.
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