Police allowed to hold suspects in Nairobi courthouse plot

NAIROBI, Kenya: A Kenyan court is allowing police to continue detaining five people who allegedly were planning to attack a Nairobi courthouse so a Muslim cleric facing terror charges could escape.

The Anti-Terrorism Police Unit said the suspects had a plot to attack the Milimani Laws Courts building in the capital when Shaikh Guyo Gorsa was expected to appear on terrorism and related charges.

Gorsa, a Muslim religious leader, was arrested in January in Marsabit County. After his arrest, local residents destroyed a Catholic church and a bank.

The escape plot suspects were arrested in mid-February after police allegedly spotted a vehicle laden with explosives and weapons hidden in a thicket in the county of Isiolo.

The court ruled they could be held for another 30 days on Friday.