Sentencing of terror suspect who planned to blow KICC adjourned
The sentencing of terror convict Victor Odede Bwire, the cousin to Elgiva Odede Bwire Oliacha, a man who planned to blow up the Kenyatta International Conference Center (KICC), has been adjourned to February 24, 2023.
Mr Victor alias Abdulaziz appeared at Milimani Law Courts, and his family members were in to listen to what decision will be made.
Also read: Man who wanted to blow up KICC convicted for plotting terrorist attack
Court documents reveal that the suspect was planning to blow up the KICC building, which is amongst the tallest in the Nairobi Central Business District (CBD) and located a few meters from the Kenyan parliament and the Senate.
On January 17, 2023, Mr Victor was found guilty of conspiracy to attack the iconic building as he was collecting data and sharing them with suspected Al Shabaab terrorists in Somalia.
The intention was to assist in bombing the building, prosecutors said. The information was being shared through Facebook.
The Terrorism Act provides that an offender convicted of conspiracy to commit a terrorist act is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 20 years.
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Milimani senior principal magistrate Bernard Ochoi then went ahead and convicted Victor after he found him guilty of two offenses — conspiracy to commit a terrorist act and collecting information in a bid to commit a terrorist attack.
He committed the offenses on January 23, 2019, jointly with others and Mohamed Yare Abdalla, who is not yet arrested.
When asked why he was surveilling KICC, he said his friend wanted to hold a Somali cultural event there.
The Senior Principal Magistrate dismissed the explanation, saying that the person who wanted to hold the event would be interested in knowing the prize of hosting it.
In his mission, he worked with three pseudo-Facebook accounts: Sadik Ali Mose, Kimsam, and Soze Keziah, which he would communicate with Mr Abdalla in Somalia.
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