Court reduces sentence for Garissa varsity attack convicts by 15 years

Two convicts serving a jail term over the 2015 Garissa University terror attack got relief after the court quashed two counts that they were sentenced to serve 15 years.

Hassan Edin Hassan and Mohammed Abdi Abikar were sentenced to 41 years imprisonment for all the counts but the high court has since quashed two meaning they will now serve 26 years.

This is after the court upheld the conviction and sentence by Chief Magistrate Francis Andayi on the main count of committing a terrorism act.

Justice Cecilia Githua ruled that she was satisfied that the circumstantial evidence by the prosecution left no doubt that the two were aware of the said plan and the actual perpetrators of the attack.

The court further ruled that their actions and those of their accomplices were premeditated acts which no doubt caused suffering to the families of the deceased victims and will continue to traumatise the victims who were lucky to survive for the rest of their lives.

“Terrorism is a grave and heinous transnational crime which not only has devastating effects on its victims but also poses a serious threat to both national and global peace and security,” the court ruled

The two had argued that the sentence of 41 years was harsh and excessive.

But the judge said she was not persuaded that the sentences were harsh and excessive and given the punishment for these offences, she find that these sentences were lenient.

She, therefore, dismissed the appeal on the sentence of conviction on the count of terrorism act but quashed the counts of them being members of the outlawed Alshabaab group

The court ruled there was no evidence to prove that the two were members of al Shabab.

“No confession evidence made by them to show that they were members of the outlawed or found with weapons associated with the group," the judge ruled.

The two were sentenced in 2019 for their role in the 2015 attack that resulted in the death of 148 persons.