Tanzanian jailed for life over Kenya terror attack

By Magdalene Mukami

NAIROBI, Kenya (AA) - A Tanzanian was handed a life sentence on Wednesday over a terror attack at a university in eastern Kenya that claimed the lives of 148 people, mostly students.

Tanzanian Rashid Charles Mberesero was found to be a key accomplice in the April 2, 2015 attack on Garissa University, with Kenyans Mohammed Abikar and Hassan Edin Hasan handed 41 years each as conspirators.

Justice Francis Andayi said the prosecution proved the cases against the three individuals beyond reasonable doubt, as Mberesero was reportedly found hiding under a bed on the day of the attack with terror-related paraphernalia.

The 2015 attack is the Somali-based al-Qaeda affiliated al-Shabaab militants' bloodiest in Kenya, where they stormed the university campus in the early morning hours.

The terrorists claimed the attack via radio broadcast in Somalia, claiming the attack was in retaliation to the Kenyan armed forces' activities in Somalia.

Al-Shabaab vowed to carry out more attacks in Kenya until the country pulls out from Somalia as part of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).