Man convicted of Al-Shabaab membership, six other terrorism offences

The Kahawa Law Courts has convicted a man on seven terrorism-related charges after the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) successfully proved he was a member of the outlawed Al-Shabaab terrorist group.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the ODPP said Ibrahim Hussein Hassan was found guilty of seven counts under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2012, including membership in a terrorist group, collection of information connected with terrorism, and possession of articles linked to the commission of terrorist acts.

Principal Magistrate Gideon Kiage ruled that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.

The court heard that Hassan was found to be a member of Al-Shabaab on September 6, 2022, at Eastleigh Section III in Nairobi County. Al-Shabaab was outlawed in Kenya through Gazette Notice No. 2326 of April 7, 2015.

According to the prosecution, a forensic examination of a mobile phone recovered from Hassan revealed three videos containing radical extremist propaganda capable of being used to recruit, train and radicalise young people.

"Having established that the Samsung phone belonged to the accused and that its analysis yielded three videos containing radical extremist terrorist propaganda, and in the absence of any reasonable explanation for their possession, this court draws the inference that the accused associated with or was a member of a terrorist group," Magistrate Kiage ruled.

The court also convicted Hassan on three counts of collecting information contrary to Section 29 of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2012, and three counts of possessing articles connected with the commission of a terrorist act.

The prosecution team, led by Principal Prosecution Counsel Kennedy Amwayi and assisted by Prosecution Counsel Fatuma Ahmed, presented evidence from 10 witnesses during the trial.

The case has been scheduled for mitigation and sentencing on July 29, 2026.