ussein Moulid - AHN News Africa Correspondent
Mombasa, Nairobi, Kenya (AHN) - Kenyan Government officials have declined to accept three suspected Somali pirates and one corpse held by an Italian warship at the port of Mombasa, on Friday said a police source.
“The government has forced a temporary prohibit on pirates being brought into the country.” Coast Provincial Police Chief Leo Nyongesa told journalists. Our hands are tied since we have many pirates on trial in Kenya and we cannot accept more, he added.Kenya is among two nations to have an agreement with Western naval powers for the arrest and prosecution of suspected pirates.
Italian Naval Warship MV Scirocco with the three suspected pirates and the dead man docked at the Port of Mombasa early on Thursday and is still at bay pending the government ruling on the matter.
Sources say that the Italian warship had interdicted the suspected pirates on the high seas.
The coast Police Chief also said that, “There is no way they shall allow the suspected pirates in our country for now, and this is a government directive and must be adhered to”.
Kenya has over 100 suspected pirates in custody serving up to 20 year prison sentences.
Although Kenya has an agreement with Western naval powers for the transfer and prosecution of suspected pirates it has declined to accept the pirates because courts lack expertise, translators and are already backlogged with a huge excess of domestic cases.
The coast of Somalia is infested with pirates that attack and hijack foreign vessels and merchant ships that use the Gulf of Aden en route to their travel destinations.
Read more: http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7018227660#ixzz0jZrlENwW
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