Kenyan Muslim Cleric hate

JOSEPH AKWIRI

Mombasa, Kenya - A Kenyan Muslim cleric accused by Washington of supporting al Qaeda-linked militants in Somalia was charged on Monday with inciting violent protests that rocked the port city of Mombasa last week.

Abubaker Sharif allegedly urged protesters to burn down churches and kill police officers in Kenya's second-biggest city during riots that killed five people, including three police.

The violence followed the assassination of another Muslim cleric, Aboud Rogo, also accused by the United States of supporting militant group al-Shabaab - t he Islamist rebels Kenya's military have been battling since invading Somalia last year.

Sharif turned himself in at a court in Mombasa on Monday after an arrest warrant was issued against him last week. He said his life was in danger in the wake of the rioting.

“He, without lawful excuse uttered words that all sheikhs associated with the government, and who are government agents (should) be slaughtered,” the charge sheet read.

The cleric, who was accompanied by his lawyer and a group of activists, pleaded not guilty to the charges and was remanded in police custody until Wednesday.

Rogo, who had been facing charges of possessing weapons, was shot in his car by unknown attackers last Monday.

His supporters fought running street battles with security forces in the hours after his death, and sporadic violence continued over the following days. Churches were torched and two grenades were thrown at police vehicles.

The government said the violence was organised by Kenya's “enemies” and blamed Muslim radicals - including the slain cleric - for supporting al-Shabaab.

The violence stoked fears the unrest could become more sectarian in the city, a tourist hub and major Indian Ocean port, where grenade attacks blamed on Somali militants and their sympathisers have already strained Muslim-Christian relations.

Islamic Tutor Jailed for 20 Years for Training Jihad

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 
MOMBASA, Kenya — Jan 7, 2016

A court in Kenya has found a teacher at an Islamic school guilty of radicalizing his students by teaching them extreme jihad and sentenced him to 20 years in prison.

Magistrate Diana Mochache said Thursday Samwel Wanjala Wabwile, also known as Salim Mohammed, was found guilty of radicalizing the Gotani primary school pupils. Mochache says Wabwile, who also taught at a mosque in Gotani village in Kilifi county, had been hiding behind religion to promote extremism.

Kenya is battling recruitment of the country's youth by al-Qaida's East African affiliate, Somalia-based al-Shabab, and lately the Islamic State.

Kenyan youth make up the largest contingent of foreign fighters in al-Shabab. Al-Shabab has carried out a wave of attacks in Kenya since it sent its troops to Somalia to fight the militants.

MOMBASA, Kenya — A Kenyan cleric who the U.N. says has urged the killing of U.S. citizens has been charged in court with inciting violent protests that left four people dead last week in Kenya’s second-largest city.

Abubaker Shariff Ahmed appeared before the court Monday in the port city of Mombasa after an arrest warrant was issued. He denies the charges.

Violent protests erupted in Mombasa last week following the assassination of hardline Muslim preacher Sheik Aboud Rogo Mohammed, a close friend of Ahmed’s.

Both men are under a travel ban and asset freeze by the U.N. Security Council and the United States for supporting the al-Qaida-linked Somali militant group al-Shabab.