A Kenyan court has handed down a 30-year prison sentence to two men, Hussein Mohammed Abdile and Mohamed Abdi Ali, for their involvement in the 2019 DusitD2 complex attack in Nairobi that killed 21 people. Judge Diana Kavedza Mochache ruled that the pair played a critical role in facilitating the attack by providing financial assistance to al-Shabab fighters and helping two attackers escape from a refugee camp using fake identity cards.
“Without financiers, facilitators and sympathisers, terrorists cannot actualise their activities,” the judge said during sentencing, emphasizing that their support made the attack possible. “The convicts may not have physically wielded the weapons that caused harm to the victims, but their facilitation directly enabled attackers who were heavily armed with guns, grenades and suicide vests.”
The judge acknowledged the ongoing psychological struggles of survivors, stating, “This was not a crime with isolated harm; 21 lives were lost.” She added, “The emotional scars of the attack run deep.” Abdile and Ali were convicted last month for facilitating and conspiring to commit a “terrorist” act, and they have 14 days to appeal the sentence.
The DusitD2 complex attack, which occurred on January 15, 2019, was claimed by al-Shabab, an armed group linked to al-Qaeda, as retaliation for the United States’ recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The attack was the first major assault in Nairobi since the 2013 Westgate mall massacre, which killed 67 people. Al-Shabab has repeatedly targeted Kenya, aiming to force the withdrawal of Kenyan troops from Somalia, where they are part of a regional force battling the rebellion.
In a broader context, Kenya has experienced several high-profile attacks by al-Shabab, including the 2015 Garissa University attack that killed 148 people. The group’s tactics have led to increased security measures in high-end venues in Nairobi, including vehicle and pedestrian checks. The sentencing of Abdile and Ali serves as a reminder of the ongoing threat posed by terrorism and the importance of disrupting support networks for extremist groups.