Doctor jailed 12 years over link to ISIS terror group
National
By
Collins Kweyu
| Apr 22, 2024
A doctor who was found guilty of charges related to terrorism has been sentenced to 12 years imprisonment.
Mohamed Abdi Ali alias Abu Fidaa alias Abu Shuhadaa alias Abu Ramzi was handed the jail term on Monday by Chief Magistrate Martha Mutuku who said his sentence will run from the time he was arrested on April 29, 2016.
The doctor who was based in Makueni County was found guilty of recruiting members of ISIS and being in possession of articles related to terror activities.
He was also found guilty of planning to carry out a terrorist attack on Kenyan soil using a biological agent in the form of anthrax bacteria.
Mutuku in her ruling said the prosecution had proved its case against the medic.
Ali's wife Nuseiba Mohammed Haji Osman also known as Ummu Fidaa who was a medical student on attachment at Mubende Hospital in Uganda was acquitted on April 12, 2024, when the two were presented in court for the judgement of their case.
The woman was acquitted by the Chief Magistrate on all counts she had been charged alongside her husband over lack of evidence.
Ali was arrested on April 29, 2016, at his residence in Wote town while his wife was nabbed at the Entebbe International Airport in Uganda after investigations were launched over their link to the intended establishment of an ISIS caliphate in Kenya and East Africa.
The magistrate ruled that the doctor wanted to establish an ISIS cell in Kenya with the help of ISIS returnees from Libya.
"There was overwhelming evidence that Ali was in constant communication with other terrorists outside the country through the use of his social media accounts of Twitter, Gmail, WhatsApp, Kik, Threema and Telegram among others," ruled Mutuku.
The court said from the evidence presented by 26 witnesses, Ali was actively linked to the terrorist organisation and would disseminate information to them using various social media accounts and offering logistical assistance to ISIS through his Twitter account, which changed name to X.
"Even if the accounts were closed, he would open others and share the information or material with the terrorist group followers," stated Mutuku.
The Director of Public Prosecutions Renson Mulele Ingonga through the lead prosecutor Duncan Ondimu had sought a custodial sentence of up to 90 years, arguing that the charges Ali was facing were serious and would have ramifications on the nation if he committed them through the use of technology.
"Ali's terror network was wide as it extended to Western, North Rift, and Coast regions as well as across nations like Somalia, Libya and Syria. ISIS your honour targets medical students around the world," the prosecution said.