Court orders 14-day detention of Lawyer Furqan Chacha
The detention period will run from November 17, the date he was first presented in court.
Nairobi lawyer Furqan Chacha Mwita will remain in custody until December 1, 2025, to allow police to conduct further investigations into alleged terrorism links.
In a ruling on an application by the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU), Kahawa Law Courts Magistrate Gideon Kiage ordered that the lawyer be detained for 14 days.
The detention period will run from November 17, the date he was first presented in court.
In their application, police had sought 20 days of custody, arguing that extended detention was necessary to gather additional evidence.
Prosecution counsel James Machira told the court that cryptocurrency transactions had linked the lawyer to an individual on the police watch list.
Machira further stated that investigations had connected Furqan to a recruitment network operating across several countries in the region, allegedly assisting youths to join terrorist groups based in Somalia and Yemen. The lawyer is also accused of soliciting and providing support to terrorist networks.
Furqan, through his lawyer Mbugua Mureithi, denied any wrongdoing, arguing that no evidence had been presented to tie him to the allegations. Mureithi claimed the arrest was an attempt to intimidate the lawyer for representing terrorism suspects. “Representing a terror suspect is not criminal,” he said, insisting that the funds Furqan received were legal fees for services rendered to his clients.
Advocate Lempaa Soyinka echoed the concerns, saying the arrest appeared designed to discourage other lawyers from representing individuals accused of terrorism. “All these advocates will run away because if they represent anyone associated with terrorism, the next day they will be where Mr. Chacha is. The court has an obligation to protect the legal fraternity,” he said.
The detained lawyer is also being represented by advocate Ayora Magati.
Furqan was arrested in Mombasa last Friday and transported to Nairobi, where he spent the weekend in custody at the ICD police station.
He is a familiar figure at the Kahawa Law Courts, where he has for years represented clients facing terrorism-related charges.
The lawyer is known as a strong advocate of civil rights, including the rights of individuals suspected of terrorism, and has publicly emphasized the need to balance counter-terrorism efforts with human rights.