Kenya has refused to take in three suspected Somali pirates and one body held by an Italian warship, arguing that its prison and court systems were overwhelmed, police said on Friday.| How much will it cost us to un-overwhelm them? |
| The cost of twenty feet of hemp rope ... |
Regional police chief Leo Nyonge said: "Our hands are tied since we have many pirates on trial in Kenya and we cannot accept more at the moment. This is a government directive and there is no way we shall bend it to allow the four suspected pirates on to our soil."
The Italian frigate Scirocco had interdicted the suspected pirates in high seas as they were in distress and proceeded to sail to Mombasa with three survivors and a body. But the Kenyan police late on Thursday refused to take them in and confusion surrounded their fate on Friday as the Italian warship remained docked in Mombasa's port.