Kenyan court sentences men for aiding al-Shabab militants in 2019 hotel attack
Al-Qaida-linked militant group al-Shabab, based in neighbouring Somalia, claimed responsibility for the daytime attack, one of its deadliest inside Kenya.
It occurred six years after an attack killed 67 people at Nairobi's Westgate Shopping Mall and four years after an attack killed 147 students at Garissa University in northern Kenya.
Al-Shabab has vowed retribution against Kenya for sending troops to Somalia to fight it since 2011, and continues to stage attacks in Somalia and Kenya.
Judge Diana Kavedza during her sentencing said the judgment spoke for the survivors who deserve closure.
She noted 'one of the most comprehensive counterterrorism investigations in Kenya's history, as law enforcement agencies pursued not only the attackers' immediate associates but also financiers, facilitators and logistical co-ordinators who enabled the attack'.
Foreign nationals, including an American and a Briton, were among those killed in the 2019 attack.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Belfast Telegraph
an hour ago
- Belfast Telegraph
White Widow: Banbridge schoolgirl turned Islamic terrorist connected to 7/7 attacks remains at large
Samantha Lewthwaite, known as the infamous 'White Widow' was born in Banbridge in 1983She has been linked to the 7/7 London attacks after her husband Germaine Lindsay killed 27 people, including himself, on a train car in LondonLewthwaite allegedly remains at large in terrorist activities in Somalia The so-called 'White Widow' is one of the world's most wanted Islamic terror suspects. Samantha Lewthwaite has been linked to 400 deaths and the 7/7 attacks, and is alleged to remain at large in Somalia. She's been on the wanted list in multiple countries for 20 years – and she's from Banbridge. After spending her early years in the county Down town she moved with family to Elsbury, near Birmingham. After converting to Islam in her late teens, she married Germaine Lindsay – who would later become infamous for his role as a suicide bomber in the London 7/7 attacks in 2005. The White Widow is rumoured to currently be in the company of terrorist group Al-Shabaab in Somalia. How did she go from County Down school girl to a hunted Al-Qaebeda suspect? Belfast Telegraph reporter James McNaney has been researching this extraordinary story, he joins Ciarán Dunbar.
Times
4 hours ago
- Times
New York shooting: gunman ‘went to wrong floor' of Manhattan skyscraper
A former high school football star who killed four people in a Manhattan skyscraper was seeking to target the headquarters of the NFL and carried a note that blamed the league for hiding the dangers of a traumatic brain disease, police said on Tuesday. Shane Tamura, a 27-year-old resident of Las Vegas, walked into the building on Park Avenue on Monday evening carrying an M4 rifle and a note claiming that 'the league knowingly concealed the dangers to our brains to maximise profits', according to police. He claimed in the note that he suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a brain disease caused by repeated blows to the head that has afflicted players of American football. Tamura drove to New York from Nevada before parking a BMW on Park Avenue. At 6.30pm on Monday, he strolled with rifle in hand into the lobby of the building that houses the NFL headquarters. Tamura first opened fire on a police officer who was on guard duty, killing him. Police say he then fired at a woman cowering behind a pillar and moved through the lobby, spraying it with bullets. At the elevators, he shot a security guard who was hiding behind a desk, according to Jessica Tisch, the New York police department commissioner. Another man in the lobby who was shot but survived has been identified as an NFL employee who was on the phone to colleagues at the time and was able to warn them of the gunman. Tamura, a security guard in a Las Vegas casino, was 'focused on the NFL' but appears to have gone to the wrong set of lifts, Eric Adams, the New York City mayor, said on Tuesday. 'There are two different elevator banks and, as you know, [in] many of our corporate buildings, some banks don't go to every floor,' Adams said. 'He appeared to have gone to the wrong bank.' When the lift doors opened, he ignored the woman who stepped out of it and rode up to the 33rd floor and the offices of Rudin Management, a property company that owns the building, firing more rounds and killing another person. In a hallway, he shot himself, Tisch said. The first of his victims was identified as Didarul Islam, a 36-year-old immigrant from Bangladesh who joined the police force four years ago. He was a father of two, and his wife is expecting a third, Tisch said. She said he was 'shot in cold blood' and 'made the ultimate sacrifice, wearing a uniform that stood for the promise that he made to this city'. Another victim, Wesley LePatner, was an executive for the Blackstone investment firm, which has an office in the building. A spokeswoman for the firm said that she was 'brilliant, passionate, warm, generous, and deeply respected within our firm' and added that 'our prayers are with her husband, children and family'. Didarul Islam and, below, Wesley LePatner NYPD/X/GETTY IMAGES An associate at Rudin Management named Julia Hyman, and Aland Etienne, a security guard, were the two other victims, according to the New York Post. An employee of the NFL named Craig Clementi is said to have been struck in the back by a bullet that may have ricocheted before striking him. Clementi was on the phone with colleagues at the time and warned them of the gunman, according to The Athletic, which said he continued to make calls as he was rushed to hospital. He was also able to call his wife and tell her that he was alive, his father-in-law, Robert Hunter, told the New York Daily News. President Trump said he had been briefed on the shooting. 'I trust our law enforcement agencies to get to the bottom of why this crazed lunatic committed such a senseless act of violence,' he said in a post on his Truth Social platform. Tamura grew up in Los Angeles, where his name appears in local newspapers as an outstanding athlete. He was a 200-metre champion and later a running back for a high school in Santa Clarita, California, and Granada Hills High School. Tamura had been living in Las Vegas and working at the Horseshoe Las Vegas casino, where a spokesman said that he was a 'surveillance department employee'. He held a permit to carry a concealed firearm, Tisch said on Tuesday. Two teams of detectives have been sent to Nevada, seeking to piece together his movements in the days before the shooting, to search his home and to visit the gunshop where he legally purchased a revolver, she said. The automatic rifle he carried he had assembled himself, with a part that was purchased by an associate, she said. When he carried out the shooting, police said Tamura carried a three-page note asking that his brain be studied for signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the disease associated with repeated blows to the head that has afflicted former NFL footballers, ice hockey players and military veterans. Tisch said medication was found in Tamura's BMW. Police found a drug used to treat severe headaches, according to the New York Post. The paper also reported, citing anonymous sources, that a note found in Tamura's home suggested that he feared that he was a disappointment to his father, a retired police officer. The risks are not limited to professional players, the Boston neuropathologist Ann McKee, one of the leading experts on CTE, told The Times last year. Her research showed that 'for every 2.6 years of American football played, you double your chances of CTE', she said. Those who have it often suffer 'disordered thinking and behaviours, they tend to isolate themselves from a family', she said. Two former players who took their own lives in 2011 and 2012, Dave Duerson and Junior Seau, shot themselves, with Duerson leaving a note asking that his brain be studied. Subsequent studies revealed that both players' brains exhibited signs of CTE. In Tamura's note, McKee was named along with other doctors who have led research into CTE, according to the New York Post, which published one page of it. A search of Tamura's car found a rifle case and ammunition, a loaded revolver, a backpack and medication prescribed to Tamura. The bomb squad swept the car but found it clear of explosives. Tamura is thought to have driven it through Colorado on July 26, Nebraska and Iowa on July 27 and then New Jersey 'as recently as 4.24pm' on Monday, Tisch said. He arrived in New York shortly afterwards. Tamura's Las Vegas home was being searched by local law enforcement. In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, the area descended into chaos as panicked office workers barricaded the doors inside the building. Photos posted on X showed Blackstone employees stacking furniture in front of an office entrance. Blackstone staff erect a makeshift barricade Local TV footage showed lines of people evacuating the office building with their hands above their heads. Four people sustained minor injuries while fleeing the scene.
The Independent
4 hours ago
- The Independent
Ukraine-Russia war latest: Russian strike on training camp kills three soldiers after Trump's 10-day ultimatum to Putin
At least three Ukrainian servicemen were killed and 18 others were injured after a Russian missile hit a Ukrainian training unit as Vladimir Putin's forces step up their attacks on Ukraine's training facilities, officials said. "Today, 29 July, the enemy launched a missile strike on the territory of one of the training units of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine," the Ground Forces said. "Despite the security measures taken, unfortunately it was not possible to completely avoid losses among the personnel. As of 21:30, it is known that there are three dead and 18 wounded servicemen,' it said. The attack comes as US president Donald Trump said he will start imposing tariffs and other measures on Russia 10 days from today if Moscow does not make progress towards ending the Ukraine war. That gives Mr Putin until 8 August to reach a deal or face steep tariffs or sanctions from the US. Mr Trump, who first announced on Monday that he was shortening his initial 50-day deadline for action from Russia to '10 to 12' days, said he had not had a response from Mr Putin. Russian missile attack on Ukraine training unit kills three soldiers A Russian missile strike on a Ukrainian training unit killed three servicemen and injured 18 on Tuesday in the latest in a series of similar attacks on training facilities, Ukraine's Ground Forces said. "Today, 29 July, the enemy launched a missile strike on the territory of one of the training units of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine," the Ground Forces said in a statement on Telegram. The report gave no indication where the attack had taken place. But military bloggers suggested it had occurred near the country's northern border in Chernihiv region. "Despite the security measures taken, unfortunately it was not possible to completely avoid losses among the personnel. As of 21.30, it is known that there are three dead and 18 wounded servicemen." Injured servicemen were being treated, officials said. The military statement said a Commission would investigate the incident and if it was established that deaths or injuries "were caused by the actions or inaction of officials, those found guilty will be held accountable". Arpan Rai30 July 2025 04:15 In pictures: Rehabilitation for war veterans Jane Dalton30 July 2025 03:00 Use of deepfakes escalates digital warfare in Ukraine conflict Creating realistic deepfakes is getting easier than ever. Fighting back may take even more AI The use of deepfakes to impersonate high-level officials in the U.S. presents a growing security challenge Jane Dalton30 July 2025 01:30 Europe ready to pay higher US tariffs for arms for Ukraine amd security Higher US tariffs part of the price Europe was willing to pay for its security and arms for Ukraine The EU-U.S. tariff agreement sealed over the weekend has been described as a 'dark day' for Europe and even a capitulation to American demands Jane Dalton30 July 2025 00:01 In pictures: Prison hit by Russian strike Jane Dalton29 July 2025 23:01 Journalist and opposition supporter jailed for 12 years A Russian journalist has been convicted and sentenced to 12 years in prison on charges of "extremism" over her links to an opposition group, part of an unrelenting crackdown on dissent. A court in the city of Ufa in Russia's Bashkortostan region found Olga Komleva, 46, guilty of involvement with an organisation of late opposition leader Alexei Navalny that was officially branded "extremist". Following her closed-door trial, the judge also found Komleva guilty on charges of "spreading false information" about the Russian military. She rejected the charges. Komleva, who has been in custody since her arrest in March last year, had worked as a volunteer at the regional branch of Navalny's Foundation for Fighting Corruption before it was outlawed in 2021. She also worked for an independent news outlet and covered protests in the region. Navalny, who was Vladimir Putin's fiercest and most prominent foe and relentlessly campaigned against official corruption, died in February last year in an Arctic penal colony while serving a 19-year sentence on a number of charges, including running an extremist group. Jane Dalton29 July 2025 22:00 Three servicemen killed in strike on army training unit A Russian missile strike on a Ukrainian training unit has killed three servicemen and injured 18, Ukraine's ground forces said. "The enemy launched a missile strike on the territory of one of the training units of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine," they said. "Despite the security measures taken, unfortunately it was not possible to completely avoid losses among the personnel. As of 21.30, it is known that there are three dead and 18 wounded servicemen." Jane Dalton29 July 2025 21:47 Putin ally brushes off US demand for peace talks Putin ally brushes off Lindsey Graham's peace talks demands Former Russian president and prime minister brushed off US officials's warnings that Russia needs to begin peace deal talks to end the war in Ukraine Jane Dalton29 July 2025 20:56 Death toll of overnight attacks rises to 27 The death toll from Russian glide bombs and ballistic missiles overnight has risen to at least 27, Ukrainian officials say. As Russia's relentless strikes on civilian areas continued, four powerful Russian glide bombs hit a prison in Ukraine's southeastern Zaporizhia region, killing at least 16 inmates and wounding more than 90 others, Ukraine's Justice Ministry said. In the Dnipro region of central Ukraine, authorities said missiles partially destroyed a three-storey building and damaged medical facilities, including a maternity hospital and a city hospital ward. At least three people were killed, including a 23-year-old pregnant woman, and two other people were killed elsewhere in the region, regional authorities said. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said that overnight Russian strikes across the country hit 73 cities, towns and villages. "These were conscious, deliberate strikes — not accidental," he said on Telegram. Jane Dalton29 July 2025 19:58 Trump warns Putin Russia has 10 days before tariffs hit US president Donald Trump says he will start imposing tariffs and other measures on Russia 10 days from today if Moscow does not make progress towards ending the war. Mr Trump, who first announced on Monday that he was shortening his initial 50-day deadline for action from Moscow, said he had not had a response from Russia. Mr Trump also said he was not worried about the potential impact of Russian sanctions on the oil market or prices, saying the US would boost domestic oil production to offset any impact.
