Two Tanzanian nationals accused of mounting a series of attacks on tourists in southwestern Kenya's Maasai Mara Game Reserve nearly two years ago were Wednesday sentenced to hang by a Narok court.
Saikara ole Kisusua, 36, and Kamakoru Suele, 25, were convicted on 10 counts of robbery with violence by Narok Senior Resident Magistrate Thomas Auma.
The two had been charged that on June 17, 1999, while armed with an AK-47 assault rifle at Ngoswani area along the Narok-Maasai Mara Road, robbed 29 American tourists and local guides of money, cameras, binoculars and other personal belongings.
The tourists, who were heading for the world-famous Maasai Mara Game Reserve in southwestern Kenya, were in a convoy of seven vans at the time of the attack.
In mitigation, the two Tanzanians, who were not represented, pleaded for leniency, saying they were both orphans and had dependents back in Tanzania.
But in sentencing the accused, Auma said the prosecution had proved beyond any doubt that the pair had committed the offence.
They were given 14 days to appeal against the sentence and were taken to Nairobi's Kamiti maximum security prison -- NAROK, Kenya (AFP)
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