Two jailed for 30 years over 2019 Kenya hotel attack

Two men were given a 30-year prison sentence by a Kenyan court for assisting al-Shabab fighters in a deadly attack in Nairobi that resulted in the deaths of 21 people in 2019.

Hussein Mohammed Abdile and Mohamed Abdi Ali were convicted on Thursday of helping two of the attackers use fake identity cards to flee from a refugee camp. Additionally, the group received financial aid from the pair.

Terrorists cannot carry out their activities without the aid of financiers, facilitators, and sympathisers, the judge said during sentencing, underscoring that their support made the attack possible.

According to Kavedza, “The convicts may not have physically wielded the weapons that caused the victims’ injuries, but their facilitation directly made attackers who were heavily armed with guns, grenades, and suicide vests” be able to use them.

21 lives were lost, she continued, acknowledging claims from survivors about their ongoing psychological struggles. “This was not a crime with isolated harm.

She claimed that the attack left behind “deep emotional scars.”

Last month, Abdile and Ali were found guilty of facilitating and conspiring to carry out a “terrorist” act. The men have 14 days to file an appeal after the charges have been denied.

attack history

On January 15, 2019, when gunmen stormed the highly regarded DusitD2 complex and opened fire, the assault started.

More than 12 hours of operation were launched by security forces. Following that, the government announced that the attackers had all been killed.

Al-Shabab, an armed organization affiliated with al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attack, claiming that it was retaliation for President Trump’s acceptance of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

The massacre at the Westgate mall in 2013 resulted in the deaths of 67 people, marking Nairobi’s first major attack since that time. 148 people were killed when al-Shabab attacked Garissa University in 2015, according to al-Shabab.

High-end venues in the capital have increased security, including pedestrian and vehicle checks, since Westgate.

Like Westgate, the DusitD2 complex was targeted by wealthy Kenyans and foreign nationals, who were frequently al-Shabab-sab.