Kenyan Court Sentences Men to 30 Years in Person for Aiding 2019 Hotel Attack   

Addis Ababa, June 20, 2025 (ENA)—A Kenyan court has sentenced two men to 30 years in prison for aiding al-Shabab fighters who were behind a deadly attack in Nairobi that left 21 people dead in 2019.

In January that year, gunmen shot their way into the Dusit hotel and office complex, killing 21 people in a siege that lasted 19 hours.

All five militants died in the attack, it was learned.

Hussein Mohamed Abdille Ali and Mohamed Abdi Ali, both Kenyans, were convicted last month on charges of facilitation and conspiracy to commit a terrorist act.

The men provided financial assistance to al-Shabab fighters who attacked the DusitD2 complex in Nairobi and killed people.

 

The judge said they had played a critical role by helping two of the attackers escape from a refugee camp using fake identity cards.

They had also provided financial assistance to the group.

Both men have denied the charges and now have 14 days to appeal their sentences.

The Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab regularly carries out attacks in Kenya.

It aims to pressurize the government into withdrawing its peacekeeping troops from Somalia where it is waging an insurgency in a bid to seize power.