Lawyer Chacha Mwita freed but to face charges in court

Nairobi lawyer Furqan Chacha Mwita arrested over terrorism allegations is a free man today, December 2, after the Kahawa Law courts magistrate Gideon Kiage dismissed a police application to hold him for another fifteen days.

While he is out on a free bond, the police are seeking to hold him further after they submitted a charge sheet where he is accused of obtaining illegal funds through cryptocurrency.

He is expected back in court tomorrow to take a plea on the charges.

The lawyer was arrested in Mombasa on November 14, 2025, on allegations of soliciting and supporting terrorist groups. The police described the arrest, which also involved nine other people as a major breakthrough on terrorism financing.

According to the charge sheet, the lawyer on July 6, 2025, received Sh12,854 from a Binance account operated by Islamic State East Africa for the commission of a terrorist act.

On the second count, the lawyer on August 2, 2025, allegedly received Sh30,110 from the same account for the commission of a terrorist offense in contravention of section 5(1) of the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

“The investigation team has received the Binance report confirming that the respondent received money from a designated entity,” said prosecution counsel James Machirah.

The state asserts that the fund could be used to recruit fighters from around the region to join the ISIS terrorist network in Yemen, Somalia, and other countries.

In seeking more time to have the lawyer in custody, the police argued that he was stalling an ongoing investigation by declining to provide passwords for his electronic devices.

In court, lawyers called for his release as they vehemently opposed his continued detention, saying that it was an infringement against his constitutional rights.

Led by Senior Counsel Martha Karua, the lawyers asserted that Chacha broke no law in receiving the alleged funds, insisting that receiving payments for legal services is not a crime.

“He is a lawyer and he can legally receive fees from anyone, regardless of their background,” she said.

In addition, the lawyers said the alleged cryptocurrency payments had not been traced, and the alleged linked terrorist entity was not named.

The defence team also took issue with the police for not carrying out investigations on the matter, stating that they was nothing new to investigate and instead they are seeking more time to hold him without sufficient reason.

“For twenty days they went to sleep and now they are saying that they will punish Mr. Chacha by taking away his liberty for another 15 days even though he is presumed innocent,” she said.

“Why arrest before gathering evidence? The arrest was totally premature. Seventeen or more days later, and they are still asking for detention," she further submitted to court.

The defense team emphasized that Chacha has a constitutional right to remain silent and is under no obligation to provide passwords. “My client will not give his passwords even if jailed indefinitely,” said Mbugua Mureithi.

Chacha Mwita is represented by a defence team who include Hassan Nandwa, Soyianka Lempa and Noordean Khagai.