Two convicts handed 30-year jail term each for aiding 2019 Dadaab terror attack

In a ruling delivered on Wednesday, Justice J. Omwange sentenced Farah Ahmed Sambul, alias Faragon, and Minaj Hassan Khalid, alias Daar, to 30 years’ imprisonment each on charges of committing a terrorist act and of being members of a terrorist group. 

The two men, said to be highly trained sharpshooters with advanced combat skills, were linked to the 2019 Dadaab attack.

The duo was later arrested on October 22, 2019, near Dobley, Somalia, in possession of three AK-47 rifles, a pistol, 287 rounds of ammunition, and a black flag bearing symbols commonly associated with Al-Shabaab.

Following the arrests, investigators confirmed the weapons matched those used in the Dadaab attack. 

In his judgment, Omwange noted that the prosecution had provided satisfactory evidence against the two convicts. 

The case marks the second terrorism conviction within a week after the Kahawa Anti-Terror Court in Nairobi handed a similar 30-year sentence to two individuals for facilitating a terrorist attack at the Dusit D2 Hotel Complex in 2019.