A court sentenced a 61-year-old madrassa teacher to 30 years’ imprisonment for facilitating a terrorist attack at the Dusit D2 Hotel Complex in Nairobi.
The Kahawa Anti-Terror Court sentenced Mohamed Abdi Ali was to 15 years for each of 14 charges of Facilitation of a Terrorist act contrary to Section 9A of the Prevention of Terrorism Act which will run concurrently, and an additional sentence of 15 years for the charge of Conspiracy to commit an offence contrary to Section 23(2) as read with 23(4) of the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2012.
The court also sentenced a 22-year-old Hussein Mohamed Abdille Ali to serve 15 years’ imprisonment after he was convicted with an offence of Conspiracy to commit an offence and another 15 years for Facilitation of a Terrorist act under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. The sentence will run consecutively.
The two men were linked to the January 15, 2019, terrorist attack at the Dusit D2 Hotel Complex in Nairobi, which claimed the lives of 21 people, including foreign nationals, and left several others with life-threatening injuries.
Lady Justice Diana Kavedza ruled that the court was satisfied that the prosecution had proved its case against Hussein Mohamed Abdille and Mohamed Abdi Ali beyond reasonable doubt.
The prosecution submitted to court that the Dusit D2 complex attack resulted in the tragic loss of 21 vibrant and enterprising professionals, and the survivors have continued to grapple with the lasting effects of the attack, living with trauma that haunted their daily lives.
The prosecution highlighted in court a victim impact statement report that was filed by the Probation and Aftercare Service officer stating that one of the survivors has bullets lodged in his body, leading to ongoing medical complications and substantial medical bills that strain his financial resources.
In addition, American national Joseph Spindler, a father of Jason Spindler, narrated to the court how his son’s life was cut short in a terrorist attack by Al-Shabaab at the DusitD2 hotel complex in Nairobi, Kenya.
In his victim impact statement report to court ahead of sentencing, Spindler recalled how his firstborn child died at 40 years old in a country he enjoyed working in, and losing him was a wound that never heals.
“Your Honor, I’m not here for revenge but for justice. Under Kenyan law, those who collaborated with terrorists must face the full weight of justice. Jason was a survivor, a doer, and a visionary. He deserved a future, not a grave marked by the shrapnel from a terrorist’s suicide vest,” said Spindler in his statement.
The court also heard that prior to the attack, the employees at the Dusit D2 complex enjoyed enhanced income through salaries, bonuses, and incentives linked to the charges of the tenants who fully occupied the complex, with occupancy rates plummeting to 100 percent with human traffic approximately 2,500 daily.
After the terror attack, the occupancy rates declined to 55 percent and human traffic reduced to about 200 people daily.
The Director of Public Prosecutions urged the court to grant maximum sentences to the convicts and that the sentences should run consecutively to enable them to reflect on the severity of their actions. He also advocated for a stringent, deterrent sentence to be imposed, serving as a strong message against future acts of terrorism and affirming the justice system’ commitment to holding perpetrators accountable for their crimes.
Justice Kavedza, in her judgement noted that Kenyans remember the fear, the pain, and the trauma, but importantly, the courage of the victims who lost their dear and loved ones, those who lost their jobs, their businesses and those that still bear the physical scars, and stated that this judgement spoke for the survivors who deserve closure.
“What followed was one of the most comprehensive counter terrorism investigations in Kenya’s history, as law enforcement agencies pursued not only the attackers’ immediate associates but also financiers, facilitators and logistical coordinators who enabled the attack.”
The prosecution, led by Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Duncan Ondimu and Principal Prosecution Counsels James Machira and Kennedy Amwayi, presented a total of 45 witnesses whose testimonies were pivotal in securing the jail terms.
At least 21 people were killed in the attack on January 15 2015.
Investigators said Mohamed Abdi Ali was an al-Shabaab financial facilitator who operated within Mandera County and was arrested on April 19, 2019 at the Mandera Local Forex Market and arraigned in court on April 23, 2019.
This followed investigations into the attack after he was established to have facilitated Ali Salim Gichunge aka Farouq aka Abu Sakeena, the slain operational leader of the DUSIT D2 attack through a number registered to himself and his deceased brother.
Mohamed sent a total of Sh558,200 to Farouk to facilitate the surveillance of several buildings in Nairobi and the purchase of materials to be used during the attack.
Mohamed had also sent Sh130,700 to individuals linked to the foiled Merti VBIED.
Mohamed Abdi Ali had joined the lucrative un regulated forex exchange business to fend for his 20 children and three wives.
He did not own a physical shop but had a vending stand where he posed as a mobile/street forex exchange trader.
He used to operate within the Mandera Soko La Sarafu that mainly targets Ethiopian and Somali visitors to Kenya at Siftu– Kenya/Ethiopia border.
Prior to his arrest, Mohamed had been operating his forex trading business for close to eight years and would exchange the Ethiopian Birr to Kenyan Shillings and US dollars to Kenyan Shillings.
Additionally, he introduced money transfers on behalf of clients using his mobile number, to stay afloat in the market and beat competition.
Mohamed claimed that he had no preferred money transfer agent where he deposited or withdrew cash but would search for agents with the amount he intended to deposit or withdraw.
He made profit by selling currencies at rateshigher than the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) rates and buying currencies at lower rates than CBK standards.
He would also get a commission for transacting with his personal lines.
Five months prior to his arrest, an Ugas (Somali elder) whom he could not clearly remember approached him with $ 3,000. The elder requested the cash to be sent in instalments to a phone number which belonged to a Gurale (A non-Somali), ingestions show.
The elder had left him with the cash in trust which he promptly transferred as requested. However, he claimed to have forgotten the name and how he had saved the number of the Ugas and the Gurale.
Hussein Mohamed Abdille, was arrested on January 31, 2019 in Mandera township. Hussein was arrested after he was linked to have picked up a parcel sent by Farouk on July 7, 2018 at Makkah Bus in Mandera.
The subject was also linked to an individual who facilitated the movement of Violet Kemunto Omwoyo, the wife of slain al Shabaab DUSIT D2 attacker and plotter Ali Salim Gichunge aka Farouq, in Mandera to Somalia on January 11, 2019.
Abdille was also linked to individuals associated with the Merti foiled VBIED attack.
Abdille received and accommodated Osman Nane and Mbarak (deceased) and other militants involved in the Merti VBIED, in Mandera.
Additionally, he was also sent a photo of Samatra, one of the slain DUSIT D2 attackers by a Somalia based al Shabaab operative and was instructed to forge a school ID linked to Arabia Secondary School, using the photo, for the al Shabaab operative.
He was also instructed to send a parcel/bag to Violet Kemunto, wife to slain DUSIT D2 attacker Ali Salim Gichunge after she fled to Somalia.
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