Two suspects found guilty in DusitD2 terror attack

Two suspects linked to the 2019 Dusit D2 terror attack, which led to the killing of 21 people, have been convicted at the Kahawa Law Courts.

The pair, Hussein Mohamed Abdille Ali and Mohamed Abdi Ali, who were earlier found to have a case to answer, appeared before Lady Justice Diana Kavedza, who found them guilty on all charges except one, of conspiring to commit a terrorist act contrary to the law.

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (ODPP) in a statement on Thursday said Hussein was convicted of facilitating a terrorist act through payment of Ksh.836,900 to one of the killed attackers and an additional 14 counts.

“The court found that he had facilitated the attack by transferring a total of Ksh.836,900 via M-Pesa to Ali Salim Gichunge, also known as Farouk or Erick Kinyanjui Munyi — the deceased attacker and a member of the Al Shabaab terrorist group,” stated the ODPP.

“These transactions occurred between October 14, 2018, and January 12, 2019, in the Soko Mbuzi area of Mandera County.”

During the hearing, the prosecution presented a total of 45 witnesses whose testimonies were pivotal in securing the convictions.

They also requested the imposition of the maximum penalty, with sentences to run consecutively rather than concurrently, and called for the cancellation of the bond for the second accused, which was revoked, and the suspect remanded to Kamiti Maximum Security Prison.

The court ordered the preparation of a probation report within 21 days, to be submitted by June 17, 2025. 

The matter was scheduled for a sentencing hearing on June 19, 2025.

In the recent hearing of the case, the first accused, Mire Abdulahi, previously entered a plea bargain with the prosecution and was duly convicted and sentenced.

The court on January 21st found that the two suspects had a case to answer.

During the trial in January, Lady Justice Kavedza in her ruling said, “Having considered the evidence of 55 witnesses, including expert testimonies, and the material presented before me, I am satisfied that the prosecution has established a prima facie case against the two accused persons. I hereby place the second accused, Hussein Mohamed Abdile, and the third accused, Mohamed Abdi Ali, on their defence.”