Kenyan medic convicted of terrorism sentenced to 12 years

A medic Mohamed Abdi Ali alias Abu Fidaa, alias Abu Shuhadaa, alias Abu Ramzi who was found guilty of being a member of ISIS and linking youths with other militants in Libya has been sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Fidaa was found guilty of five terrorism-related counts including; being a member of a terrorist group, organising a meeting in support of terrorist groups and recruitment of members of a terrorist group.

Magistrate Martha Mutuku in sentencing Mohamed Abdi Ali aka Abu Fidaa said she considered the eight years he has been in custody while the matter was pending in court.

Meanwhile, Principal Prosecution counsel Duncan Ondimu had proposed that the accused be given 22 years for being a member of a terrorist group.

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) has since indicated it will appeal the sentence.

Earlier, Ondimu had however 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 defenceless 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.

It was reported that Ali’s network included medical experts with whom they planned to unleash a biological attack in Kenya using anthrax.

Kenya’s counter-terrorism policing has termed the conviction a breakthrough in the fight against terrorism.

“His incarceration is a major blow to ISIS especially with the fact that his collaborators ran away following enhanced counter-terrorism operations by security agencies. Multi-agency agency approach in the fight against terrorism is bearing fruits going by the increased number of convicted terrorists” NCTC said on X.

While thanking its partners which include the US government and Uganda’s Director of Criminal Investigations, the organisation urged States to continue partnering in the war on terrorism which it said was a transnational crime.

“We thank our partners for their unwavering support in the fight against terrorism and more specifically in their contribution to the conviction of this ISIS terrorist. Citizens are encouraged to support government efforts in fighting terrorism through reporting terror activities to security agencies for action” NCTC stated.

Mohamed Abdi Ali was arrested on the 29th of April 2016 at his residence in Wote Town within Makueni County.