Court frees suspect accused of forging ID of Garissa attack mastermind's kin

Abdi Yusuf Ali before Makadara Senior Principal Magistrate Ann Mwangi on Thursday, September 7, 2023. [Collins Kweyu,Standard]

A suspect who allegedly forged a Kenyan national identity card belonging to a relative of the mastermind of the 2015 Garissa University terror attack has been released on a cash bail of Sh300,000 by a city court.

Abdi Yusuf Ali denied the charge before Makadara Senior Principal Magistrate Ann Mwangi, who ordered him to appear in court yesterday for bail determination and ruling.

The prosecution had opposed his release, claiming that he was a security threat and a flight risk.

Ali is accused of using the identity card of Abdi Yusuf Ali, who is a brother of Mohammed Kuno alias Gamadhere, the Kenyan behind the attack that killed over 147 students at the university in 2015. Gamadhere was killed by a US drone strike in Somalia in 2016.

The prosecution said that Ali disguised himself as a Kenyan and a son of Ralia Mohammed Wardere from Garissa county when applying for the identification card, knowing that it was false.

According to the investigating officer, Hassan Hussein, police believe that the real Abdi Yusuf Ali may have crossed to Somalia to take up the role of his deceased brother and may have also been killed there.

In the amended charge sheet, Ali faced four counts of fraud and forgery. He is accused of obtaining Sh5.6 million from Hassan Ali Hassan between September 8 and September 24, 2022 in Eastleigh, Nairobi by falsely pretending that he could import goods from Europe.

He is also accused of willfully procuring a Kenyan identity card in the name of Abdi Yusuf Ali between July 14, 1987 and February 19, 2008 in Nanighi sub location, Garissa county jointly with others not before court.

Additionally, he is charged with uttering a false document in regard to the identity card which he claimed