A Kenyan court on Wednesday found two men guilty of their role in helping al-Shabaab gunmen who attacked the Westgate shopping center in Nairobi in 2013 and killed 67 people. A third man accused of the attack was acquitted.
Following a trial that began in January 2014, Judge Francis Andayi found that Mohamed Ahmed Abdi and Hassan Hussein Mustafa conspired with and assisted the four assailants who died in a siege claimed by the Somali-based al-Qaida-based group.
The third accused, Liban Abdullahi Omar, was acquitted of all charges and was immediately allowed to leave the quay.
It was unclear whether the judge would pass judgment immediately or at a later hearing.
The convicted couple “had constant communication with the attackers,” whose pattern “betrays the fact that they may have just been friends,” Andayi said.
Although there was no specific evidence that they had provided material assistance, the judge said he was satisfied “their communication with the attackers provided support for their efforts” and justified the guilty verdict for conspiracy.
At noon on September 21, 2013, a four-man commando team raided an attack on the exclusive Westgate shopping mall in the Kenyan capital, throwing grenades and firing indiscriminately at shoppers and business owners.
A four-day siege ensued, with Kenyan security forces launching a series of attacks to recapture the mall and subdue the attackers.
The attack was claimed by Al-Shabaab in retaliation for Kenya’s military intervention in southern Somalia in 2011.
Kenyan troops are part of the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM), which helped drive al-Shabaab from key strongholds of the war-torn nation.
(AFP)
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