The High Court has quashed a 15-year sentence that was handed to two terror suspects convicted for being members of the Al-Shabaab terror group.
The two had been sentenced over a terror attack that led to the death of 148 people, the majority of them University students, at Garissa University in 2015.
Following the 2015 brutal terror attack at Garissa University, three suspects were arrested and charged before Milimani Chief Magistrate Court with 152 counts of terrorism and murder.
The three Hassan Edin Hassan, Mohammed Abdi Abikar, and Rashid Mberesero (Deceased) were sentenced to 41 years in jail on June 9, 2022 for their roles in the attack that killed 148 people, the bulk of whom were students.
However, Rashid Mberesero committed suicide while in prison leaving his counterparts struggling with the appeal.
They were also sentenced to serve 15 years in jail for several other counts with the highest jail term being 41 years. The sentence was to serve concurrently meaning they would only serve for one count.
They however appealed the decision.
The court found that the prosecution did not prove beyond reasonable doubt that the two suspects are members of Al-Shabaab.
In the judgment that was delivered by Justice Cecilia Githua Friday, the court found that the appellants had denied the offence and it was the duty of the prosecution to prove that they were members of the Al-Shabaab terror group.
“Suspicion, however strong, cannot be evidence,” the judge ruled.
However, the High Court upheld counts 1 to 150 saying that the charge of conspiracy to commit a terror attack was not defective and that the prosecution proved the charge beyond a reasonable doubt.
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.
