Prosecution pushes for conviction of two Dusit attack suspects

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has called on the Kahawa Law Courts to convict two individuals accused of aiding the 2019 Dusit D2 Hotel terror attack.

In final submissions made before Justice Diana Kavedza, the prosecution argued that Hussein Mohamed Abdile Ali and Mohamed Abdi Ali played key roles in supporting the attackers who carried out the deadly incident that killed 21 people and left many others injured.

Assistant DPP Duncan Ondimu told the court that the evidence presented showed clear links between the accused and the planning and facilitation of the attack.

He detailed how Abdile allegedly communicated with a person using the Facebook name "Adamu Chege" to help generate a fake ID, which was used in the planning stages.

The court heard that Adamu Chege, the attack's coordinator, was in direct contact with the lead attacker, Salim Gichunge, during the assault.

"The prosecution humbly submits that first accused instigated the commission of a terrorist attack by facilitating the falsification of a birth certificate entry number 102209686/16 and transmitted that information to the user of the Facebook account ‘Adamu Chege’, a coordinator of Dusit D2 Hotel terror attack for purposes of preparation to commit a terrorist attack," Ondimu stated.

Further evidence linked Abdile to a parcel sent from Nairobi to Mandera, with the receiving contact number belonging to him at the time of his arrest.

The number had been shared by Adamu Chege to a Facebook contact involved in the plot, tying Abdile to the movement of materials connected to the attackers.

Mohamed Abdi Ali, the second accused, was said to have wired money to Salim Gichunge through mobile transactions using SIM cards registered under his late brother, Isaack Abdi Ali.

Investigators showed that between November 2018 and January 2019, Gichunge received over Sh800,000, with Sh149,400 of that amount sent directly from a line registered in Abdi’s own name.

The last payment was made three days before the attack.

Ondimu told the court that the Anti-Terror Police Unit investigated 177 SIM cards recovered from Muchatha, in Kiambu County, and reviewed Facebook messages, M-Pesa logs, and phone data to trace communications and movements of those involved in the attack.

Evidence presented included analysis by PW44, who demonstrated that the two SIM cards—one in Abdi’s name and one in his deceased brother’s—had been used in the same handset.

The third accused, Mile Abdullahi, entered into a plea bargain with the prosecution after admitting to providing internet services to the attackers.

Police Constable Titus Lang’at played a central role in tracing the suspects.

He testified that evidence gathered from Muchatha and Jilib, Somalia, showed strong connections between the suspects and the attackers.

He also revealed that one of the SIM cards used for mobile money transfers was registered using a stolen ID, while another ID belonging to Dr. Eric Kinyanjui had been used to activate the line used by Kemunto, another suspect believed to have fled to Somalia.

Lang’at testified that a Facebook account, created a day before the attack, was used to stream live videos by the attackers. Another account tied to Chege, active since 2018, was linked to a failed plan to bomb the Kenyatta International Convention Centre.

The prosecution said Abdile had photos of fake student IDs, which helped terrorists escape a refugee camp.

Although he communicated with Chege on Facebook, there was no direct mention of an upcoming attack, according to Lang’at.

Further details emerged about the attackers. Mahir Khaled Riziki, the suicide bomber, traveled from Elwak to Muchatha via Nairobi.

Others, including Osman Gedi, Adan Mohamed Noor, and Siad Omar Abdi, converged in Nairobi before moving to Muchatha.

The four were last seen together the day before the attack, captured on video sharing a meal and watching footage of Osama bin Laden, with weapons nearby.

According to the officer, Al-Shabaab sympathizer media posted their pictures after the attack, confirming their identities.

The terrorists were later celebrated by Al-Kataib Media Foundation, which also posted similar content after the Manda Bay attack.

During trial, it was revealed that Gichunge received a final payment of Sh139,500 from Abdi, split into two transfers, just a day before the assault on the Dusit D2 Hotel Complex.

The accused, in their defense, denied any connection to the terrorists.

Abdile claimed he was tricked into involvement by a religious teacher, while Abdi insisted he knew nothing of the attack, claiming the money sent had a different purpose.

Judgment is set to be delivered on May 22, 2025, as the court decides whether the prosecution’s evidence proves the accused had an active role in one of Kenya’s deadliest terrorist attacks in recent years.