NAIROBI — Two men have been convicted for helping fund and facilitate the 2019 terrorist attack at Nairobi’s Dusit D2 complex, an assault that left 21 people dead and dozens wounded.
In a ruling delivered on Thursday at Kahawa Law Courts, Lady Justice Diana Kavedza found Hussein Mohamed Abdille Ali and Mohamed Abdi Ali guilty on multiple counts related to the attack, declaring that prosecutors had proved their case beyond reasonable doubt.
The court acquitted both men on one charge but found them responsible for financing and aiding the attackers in the lead-up to the deadly assault.
Mohamed Abdi Ali, the more prominently linked of the two, was convicted on 14 additional counts. Among the most damning findings: he transferred over 836,000 Kenyan shillings roughly £5,000 at the time to Ali Salim Gichunge, the attacker who led the raid and was later killed by security forces.
Gichunge, also known by the aliases Farouk and Erick Kinyanjui Munyi, was a known operative of the Somalia-based militant group Al Shabaab, which claimed responsibility for the attack.
Court records show that the money was sent between October 2018 and January 2019 from Mandera County near the Somali border, a region often under scrutiny for cross-border extremist activity.
The first accused in the case, Mire Abdulahi, entered a plea bargain earlier in the trial and was already convicted and sentenced.
Over the course of the trial, the prosecution called 45 witnesses, including investigators and mobile money experts, to build its case. Their testimonies helped trace the money trail directly to the attackers.
“This ruling sends a clear message that those who bankroll terror will face the full weight of the law,” said prosecutor John Mungai outside court. “It is not just the man who pulls the trigger who bears guilt.”
The Director of Public Prosecutions has asked the court to hand down the harshest penalties available, arguing that the men’s actions directly enabled a mass killing in the heart of the capital. The prosecution also asked that sentences be served consecutively, not concurrently.
The judge revoked Mohamed Abdi Ali’s bond, ordering that he be held at Kamiti Maximum Security Prison until sentencing.
A probation report is due by 17 June, ahead of sentencing on 19 June.
The Dusit D2 attack was one of Kenya’s deadliest since the Westgate Mall siege in 2013. On the afternoon of 15 January 2019, gunmen stormed the upscale complex in Nairobi’s Riverside area, triggering a 20-hour standoff that ended with all the attackers dead.
For survivors and families of the victims, the verdict marks a significant though long-awaited step toward justice.
“This won’t bring back those we lost,” said Lucy Wanjiru, whose brother died in the attack. “But knowing someone is being held accountable helps us sleep at night.”
