Kenyan terror suspect found guilty of recruiting members to ISIS

A Nairobi court on Friday convicted a terror suspect who was suspected of planning to establish an ISIS caliphate in Kenya and the East African region at large back in 2016.

Mohamed Abdi Ali alias Abu Fidaa alias Abu Shuhadaa alias Abu Ramzi, who is a medical doctor, was charged with terrorism-related charges contrary to the Prevention of Terrorism Act, the and Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act No. 12 of 2011.

The Office of the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), in a statement on Friday, said the suspect was found guilty of recruiting members to ISIS and being in possession of articles related to terror activities.

“Abu Ramzi was charged with being a member of a terrorist group, namely the ISIS terror group, organizing a meeting in support of terrorist groups, recruitment of members to a terrorist group, collection of information, and possession of articles connected with the commission of terrorist acts,” the ODPP noted.

Appearing before Chief Magistrate Martha Mutuku, the suspect was found guilty after the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt by presenting 26 witnesses, including the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU), FBI from the US and Uganda police. 

The prosecution, led by Duncan Ondimu, had sought a custodial sentence of up to 90 years due to the seriousness of the offences and the impact they would have on the nation.

Ondimu cited the defenseless nature of the victims and the intelligence of the convict, implying that the suspect knew what he was doing and the fact that he would have used technology to perpetrate the crimes.

At the same time, the court acquitted co-accused persons Nuseibah Mohamed Haji and Ummu Fidaa.

“Mohamed Abdi Ali was arrested on the 29th April, 2016 at his residence in Wote Town within Makueni County, while Nuseibah Mohamed Haji was arrested at the Entebbe International Airport in the Republic of Uganda pursuant to investigations that linked them to the intended establishment of an ISIS caliphate in Kenya and East Africa,” noted the ODPP.

The sentencing was scheduled for April 22, 2024.