The wife of the Somali Prime Minister has been arrested at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi after she was found with ammunition.
Ms Asha Yassim Hassa, the wife of Mr Orma Sharmake, was found with 16 rounds of ammunition in her bag at the screening area as she was leaving for the US on Saturday morning.
She was, however, released on a cash bail, and allowed to continue with her journey as she was to attend a crucial meeting.
“Ms Hassa will be charged in court when she comes back,” Kenya Airports Police Unit Deputy Commandant Joseph Nthenge said on Monday.
Police are investigating the matter.
MAY NOT BE CHARGED
Some sources said that if investigations establish that she inadvertently carried the ammunition, she may not be charged in court.
Ms Hassa said her husband had previously used the bag, and that she did not empty it before going to the airport. She further said she was not aware that there were bullets in the bag.
“The evidence of physical possession is there. Investigators are now trying to establish if she was aware of what she was carrying, and whether she did so with a criminal intent,” said the source.
The exhibits are being kept by the police and may be destroyed later.
In her statement, Ms Hassa said the bag belongs to her husband and that she had taken it hurriedly, without checking its contents.
NOT LICENSED
Ms Hassa is not a licensed firearm holder and she had not declared to the airport authorities that she had the ammunition.
For security reasons, dangerous goods such as ammunition and explosives must not be carried in a passenger’s baggage.
Security at airports, especially the JKIA, has in the recent past been boosted over fears of terrorist attacks.
