A 61-year-old man convicted over the 2019 DusitD2 terror attack has avoided a 225-year prison sentence after the High Court ruled his jail terms would run concurrently.
Justice Diana Kavedza sentenced Mohamed Abdi Ali to 15 years for conspiracy to commit a terrorist act. He was also handed 15 years for each of 14 counts related to terrorism financing, but the judge ruled that the sentences would run concurrently.
His co-accused, 22-year-old Hussein Abdile Ali, received a 30-year jail term for the two charges he faced.
The prosecution had pushed for consecutive sentencing, which would have kept Abdi behind bars for more than two centuries. “He knew he was aiding the death of 21 people. He claims he was misled. This is not an expression of remorse,” said Kennedy Amwayi from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP).
The court noted that the two convicts had betrayed the country by sympathising with and funding a terrorist organisation.
“Those who facilitated the terrorists may not carry weapons, but they are equally complicit in the violence that followed. This is more than criminal conduct. It is a betrayal of the very fabric of our nation,” said Justice Kavedza.
“It is unforgivable. Let this sentence therefore speak not only through the law, but through the sorrow of a wounded people. For those who stood with the enemy, who helped to make the attack possible — today, justice answers. And Kenya remembers.”
Justice Kavedza emphasised that the 15 January 2019 attack, which left 21 people dead, would not have occurred had Abdile not prepared travel documents for the attackers to enter Kenya from Somalia. She also noted that the main attacker, Ali Salim Gichunge, would not have executed the assault if Abdi had not wired him funds.
The judge described the incident as a deliberate conspiracy involving several individuals, and said the convicts must be held accountable for the pain, suffering, and lasting scars they helped inflict.
“The attack exposed our country as a danger zone. The tourism sector became vulnerable to negative perceptions of safety following the DusitD2 attack,” she observed.
During mitigation, both convicts — despite being Muslims — cited the Bible in seeking leniency. Abdi’s lawyer, Chacha Mwita, referenced Romans 12:19 while pleading for a non-custodial sentence, urging the court to leave vengeance to God.
Email your news TIPS to Editor@nairobilawmonthly.com, and to advertise with us, call +254715061658 anytime of the day
