By: TPA News Desk | editor@thepointafricanews.com
‘It was just after 3:00 p.m. on a Tuesday afternoon in Nairobi when gunfire shattered the calm in the city’s upscale Westlands district. Smoke rose from the DusitD2 hotel complex, terrified office workers jumped from windows, and emergency responders rushed into chaos. For 12 hours, Kenya stood still—watching yet another brutal reminder of the threat posed by extremist violence.‘ More than five years later, justice has caught up with two men who helped set day in motion.’
A Nairobi court has sentenced Hussein Mohammed Abdile and Mohamed Abdi Ali to 30 years in prison each for aiding the 2019 terrorist attack at the DusitD2 hotel and office complex that killed 21 people, including foreign nationals. The two were convicted in May 2025 for facilitating the attackers’ operations—providing forged identity documents, financial support, and assisting with travel logistics.
Delivering the verdict on Thursday, Judge Diana Mochache said the men’s behind-the-scenes involvement was essential to the deadly plot, stating that “logistical support is the lifeblood of terrorism, and those who enable it must bear responsibility.”
The court was told the accused assisted members of the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab militant group, helping them leave a refugee camp and secure housing in Nairobi under false identities. The attack, which took place on January 15, 2019, targeted the DusitD2 hotel complex, home to restaurants, offices, and international businesses.
Witnesses during the trial recounted how Abdile and Ali were in contact with the attackers in the days leading up to the assault. One of the key attackers, who later died during the security operation, used documents and funds traced back to the two convicts. In total, 45 witnesses were called, and digital forensic evidence linked the men to planning and facilitation efforts.
A third accomplice, Mire Abdulahi, pleaded guilty earlier in the year and received a reduced sentence. All five attackers were killed during the security forces’ response.
Lawyers for Abdile and Ali have announced plans to appeal the judgment, maintaining their clients’ innocence and disputing the strength of the prosecution’s evidence. They have 14 days to do so.
The attack on the DusitD2 complex was one of several major assaults by al-Shabab in Kenya over the past decade, including the 2013 Westgate Mall siege and the 2015 Garissa University massacre. Security analysts say the ruling marks a shift in Kenya’s counterterrorism strategy, extending justice to not just the gunmen, but those who fund and organize attacks from the shadows.
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