The Kahawa Law Courts have convicted a man on seven terrorism-related charges.
This was after prosecutors proved he was linked to the outlawed terrorist group Al-Shabaab and possessed extremist materials capable of promoting radicalisation.
According to statement by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), the court found the accused guilty of membership in Al-Shabaab, collecting information connected with terrorism and possessing articles connected with the commission of terrorist acts under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2012.
The offences were reportedly committed on September 6, 2022, in Nairobi’s Eastleigh Section III, where the accused was found to be a member of Al-Shabaab, a terrorist organisation proscribed in Kenya.
Among the evidence submitted in court included a Samsung mobile phone recovered from the accused, with forensic analysis revealing three videos containing radical extremist propaganda capable of being used to recruit, train and radicalise young people.
The court therefore held that ownership of the phone had been established and that the accused failed to provide any reasonable explanation for possessing the extremist material, leading the court to infer that he was associated with the terrorist group.
Additionally, the court convicted the accused on three counts of collecting information connected with terrorism contrary to Section 29 of the Prevention of Terrorism Act and three counts of possessing articles connected with the commission of a terrorist act.
