Justice Cecilia Githua on Friday, March 24, reviewed the jail sentence for two convicts who participated in the 2015 Garissa University terror attack after a successful appeal.
The two, Hassan Edin Hassan and Mohammed Abdi Abikar, who had been sentenced to serve 41 years in prison by a lower court for taking part in the heinous act, saw their sentences revised to 26 years.
In her ruling, 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 judge, however, was not satisfied by the evidence provided by prosecutors linking the two suspects to the outlawed al Shabaab militia.
High Court Judge Githua noted that she was, however, satisfied that both Hassan Edin Hassan and Mohammed Abdi Abikar were part of the planned attack and the perpetrators.
Justice Githua noted that Edin and Abikar were part of the plan that was premeditated to cause maximum casualties and to the victims and families of the deceased.
It was observed that Edin and Abikar's actions or inactions were an indirect contribution to the violence that took place at Garissa University.
Edin and Abikar were sentenced in 2019 for their role in 2015 but maintained that they were innocent.
In 2020, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) named a Somali Mohamed Kuno alias Gamadhere as the mastermind behind the attack.
DCI offered a KSh20,000,000 reward for information that would lead to for his arrest and prosecution. Investigators noted that Mohamud served as the principal of Najah Madrasa school in Garissa between 1993 and 2007.
