Kenyan Court Sentences Two to 30 Years for 2019 Al-Shabaab Hotel Attack

A Kenyan court sentenced two men, Hussein Mohamed Abdille Ali and Mohamed Abdi Ali, to 30 years in prison for facilitating the 2019 terrorist attack on the DusitD2 hotel and office complex in Nairobi that killed 21 people. The men were convicted of conspiracy and aiding Al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab militants by providing financial support and fake identification documents, enabling attackers to carry out the siege. Judge Diana Kavedza emphasized the critical role the facilitators played in enabling the attackers and highlighted the deep emotional scars left on survivors. The attack was part of a series of violent assaults by al-Shabaab in Kenya, retaliating against Kenya's military involvement in Somalia since 2011. Both convicts denied wrongdoing but were found guilty in one of Kenya's most comprehensive counterterrorism investigations. They have 14 days to appeal their sentences.