Aston Lukoye
- They were found guilty of participating in the 2015 Garissa University attack that left 148 people dead, most of them students.
- Edin and Akibar were sentenced in 2019 for their role in 2015 but utterly maintained their innocence in the matter.
- The two had been sentenced to serve 41 years in prison but the sentences were reduced to 26 years.
The jail sentences for convicts Hassan Edin Hassan and Mohammed Abdi Abikar who participated in the 2015 Garissa University terror attack were reduced by 15 years each following a successful appeal. Their sentences were reduced from 41 years to 26 years in prison each.
Delivering the ruling on Friday 24, Justice Cecilia Githua upheld a count that the duo participated in a terrorist act that left 148 students from the university dead.
“Terrorism is a grave and heinous transnational crime which not only has devastating effects on its victims but also poses a serious threat to both national and global peace and security,” read part of the judgment.
The prosecutor’s evidence connecting the two suspects to the banned al Shabaab militia, however, did not convince the judge. Judge Githua of the High Court stated that she was confident that Hassan Edin Hassan and Mohammed Abdi Abikar were responsible for the planned attack.
Lady Justice Githua made it clear that the appeal was based on the conviction for a terrorist act, not on the charge that they were Alshabaab members, which is an illegal group.
“No confession evidence made by them to show that they were members of the outlawed or found with weapons associated with the group,” the judge ruled.
According to the judge, the convicts’ actions and those of their colleagues “were cowardly premeditated acts that caused trauma to victims and their families and will continue to traumatise them for the rest of their lives”.
