Suspects (left to right) Hassan Hussein Mustafa, Liban Abdullahi Omar, and Mohamed Ahmed Abdi standing in the dock during their appearance for their case at the Milimani court in Nairobi. Abdi and Mustafa were found guilty, while Omar was acquitted of charges.
NAIROBI, Oct 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A court in Kenya has found two men guilty of helping militants to attack an upmarket shopping mall in 2013.
The court found Mohamed Ahmed Abdi and Hussein Hassan Mustafa, guilty for their roles in the 2013 attacks. A third, Liban Abdullah Omar, was acquitted of charges.
None of the three were accused as gunmen, but instead of aiding the attack. They faced charges of conspiracy to commit terrorism and supporting a terrorist group. A fourth suspect, Adan Dheq, was released last year due to a lack of evidence.
The four men, all ethnic Somalis, were first charged in November 2013. They each pleaded not guilty and the case went to trial. The trial has been delayed multiple times.
At least 67 people died in the assault by al-Shabaab on the Westgate shopping complex in the capital, Nairobi.
The state said the four militants who carried out the attack were found dead in the shopping centre’s rubble.
The militants occupied the mall for four days, in one of the deadliest attacks by al-Shabab in Kenya.
A third man was found not guilty on all counts of conspiracy to commit a terrorist act.
More than 140 witnesses testified in the case. The accused denied conspiring to commit terrorism.
The presiding judge ruled that the two suspects, both Kenyan citizens, will be sentenced on Oct 22.
Their convictions will be welcomed in a country that remains on high alert over possible attacks by al-Shabaab.
The al-Qaeda affiliate is headquartered in neighbouring Somalia, and has carried out a series of attacks in Kenya.
Kenya has troops in Somalia to help fight the militants. — NNN-AGENCIES
