In mid-2019, news broke out about the arrest of a boda boda rider, Victor Bwire Odede (also known as Abdulaziz).

Allegedly, Victor Bwire was part of a plot to bomb the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in 2019.

The boda boda rider is said to have been recruited to execute the planned attack. This saw him start a road trip in January 2019 between Nairobi and Elwak town in Mandera to observe how security personnel would treat him on each leg of the journey.

Once he completed this, reports say that he was tasked with surveying the KICC.

He would collect information on the security details around the building, how security searches are conducted at the entrance and the number of doors.

In addition, he was tasked to check the toilets, CCTV cameras, loading zones, and other areas, including parking lots.

He opened three Facebook accounts, which he used to collect data and pass on to a man who was identified as Mohammed Yare Abdalla.

This man was based in Somalia. The three Facebook accounts were opened using pseudonyms, such as Kezia Frozen.

When he was arrested in 2019, Bwire, is reported as having confessed to opening these social media accounts and receiving instructions from Somali-based terror group, Al-Shabaab.

He also allegedly confessed to getting briefings from two masterminds of the intended attack, Mohamed Abdalla.

Incidentally, his cousin is missing convicted terrorist Elgiva Bwire.

Bwire defended himself, saying Abdalla was a sugar merchant and that the trips to Elwak and Moyale were meant to see whether the police would “disturb” him on the way.

Regarding the attack on KICC, Bwire said that Abdalla wanted to hold a Somali cultural at the iconic building sometime in 2019 and was seeking details of the venue.

In a ruling delivered on Monday, by magistrate Bernard Ochoi, the court found Bwire guilty of conspiracy to commit a terrorist attack and collecting information to commit a terrorist attack at KICC.

The court further found that the prosecution had proved the two counts beyond a reasonable doubt. These included conspiracy to commit a terrorist act and collection of information for use in the commission of a terrorist act.

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“It is my finding also that the prosecution has proved both counts beyond a reasonable doubt, and he is convicted of the same,” the magistrate ruled.