Editor's Review

"Had the attack been successful, the impact would have been dire," Judge Ochoi said.


A Nairobi court has handed a man arrested for planning to bomb KICC a 20-year jail term.

Victor Odede Bwire Alias Abdulaziz was sentenced on Friday, February 24 after he was found guilty of planning to bring down the building in 2019.

 Senior Principal Magistrate Bernard Ochoi in his ruling said terrorism is a heinous offence that needs a stiffer sentence.

"In this case, the choice of target was KICC. That's an aggravating factor. It's an icon and landmark for Kenya. A leasing facility for meetings which also houses VIPs," Ochoi said.

Bwire was found guilty on Monday, February 20.

FILE IMAGE of KICC Nairobi.

"Had the attack been successful, the impact would have been dire," Ochoi said.

During mitigation, Bwire pleaded with the court to give him a non-custodial sentence saying he was in distress at the time.

The Terrorism Act provides that an offender convicted of the offence of conspiracy to commit a terrorist act is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 20 years.

For the offence of collection of information for purposes to commit a terrorist act, an offender is also liable, on conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 20 years.