A man who was found guilty of conspiracy to bomb the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Victor Odede Bwire was charged that together with others he conspired to commit an act of terror at KICC in January 2019. He also faced a separate charge of collecting information to aid a terror act.
In count number 1, Bwire was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment and the second count 20 years. The court ruled that the sentences will run concurrently.
Delivering the ruling, Milimani Law Court Magistrate Bernard Ochoi ruled that had the attack been successful, the impact would have been dire.
According to the pre-sentencing report, the KICC building can accomodate upto 10,000 guests at a time.
The magistrate noted that the building houses VIPs and it’s an icon and landmark building in Kenya.
Victor Bwire who is a cousin to Elgiva Bwire, who was sentenced to life imprisonment, told the court that he had been duped into the act due to depression to make it in life.
He asked the court to give him a non custodial sentence. However, the prosecution on its part told the court that Bwire together with wanted suspect Mohammed Abdakla were conspiring and collected information on KICC with the intention of bringing the building down.
According to the charge sheet, on the said date in Umoja, Nairobi, Bwire collected and transmitted, information on security arrangement of the KICC using his phone to the holder of a Facebook account Mohamed Yare Abdalla.
The prosecution submitted that the information was intended for use in the commission of a terror act.
