Two suspected terrorists charged with court bombing plot handed 19-year jail terms each

The two suspected Al-Shabaab terrorists found guilty of plotting a bomb attack at the Milimani Law Courts in 2018  have both been sentenced to 19 years behind bars.

Abadi Majit Hassan Adan and Mohammed Osman were found guilty of nine terror-related charges on Thursday.

Senior Principal Magistrate Zainabu Abdul handed down the verdict, ruling that the severity of the charges warranted a minimum prison sentence of 25 years for each defendant with no possibility of custodial sentencing.

Abdul however took into account the six years the suspects had spent in police custody, leading to a reduced sentence of 19 years imprisonment.

In addition, Lydia Nyambura Mburu, another individual accused alongside the two suspects, was convicted of forging an ID document and  sentenced to three years in jail.

In February, both Adan and Osman were found guilty of possessing improvised explosive devices (IEDs) including seven projectile bombs with the intent to commit a terror attack.

The duo, who were among the six suspects arrested in Merti in 2018 while transporting weapons to orchestrate the attack, were also found guilty of possessing 36 hand grenades and five specified firearms.

The court, however, acquitted two men who were jointly accused with the suspects during the arrest in 2018.

Anthony Kitila Makau and Francis Macharia Karishu were found innocent, while Nyambura was found guilty of forgery. 

In 2018, the five denied all allegations of planning to attack the court buildings and rescue Sheikh Guyo Gorsa who was being held over terror-related allegations.

Police claimed that the five intended to launch an attack at the Milimani Chief Magistrate’s Court on February 16 when Mr Gorsa was scheduled to answer to charges of terror.