Addis
Ababa, August 30, 2006 (WIC) - Two Oromo Liberation Front (OLF)
members have been sentenced to 31 and 11 years in prison by a
Moyale court in Kenya, The Standard newspaper reported.
Members of
the OLF were found guilty of possessing two AK-47 rifles,139
rounds of ammunition and two hand grenades.
The convicts
were apprehended on August 23 at Kate sub-location in Moyale
Central division in the ongoing Kenya-Ethiopia joint military
operation to contain banditry along the border.
One of the
accused, Nura Denga Jarso, was found with a AK47 rifle, two
grenades and 113 rounds of ammunition.
He confessed
before Senior Resident Magistrate, James Nduna, that he was
recruited into OLF in May last year, with the promise of 5,000
shillings monthly salary, the newspaper said.
The
magistrate sentenced Jarso to 31 years for the four counts he had
been charged with.
His
co-accused, Kalicha Molu, was convicted of three counts: being in
possession of a rifle, 26 rounds of ammunition, and being in the
country illegally.
The
magistrate handed him an 11-year sentence. The suspects were
convicted on their own guilty pleas, the newspaper added.
The
prosecutor, Inspector Mohammed Noor, earlier told the court that
the offences threatened security, and called for severe punishment
for the professed rebels.
Delivering
his judgment, the magistrate concurred with the prosecution that
the offences were serious, and required a deterrent sentence.
