BY Abdinoor Ali Elhadji
The Family of the missing horn of Africa analyst and the executive director at Horn of Africa Strategic Studies have come out and said information circulating on social media that Prof Abdiwahab Sheikh Abdisamad has been found is false.
In a statement released the family said, they were unaware of the whereabouts of their kin Prof Abdiwahab Sheikh.
“The family wishes to dispel claims that Abdiwahab has been found, and discourages anyone spreading false misleading information to stop,” said part of the statement seen by Frontier Online
The brief statement shared by the family on Twitter further reads that the family is doing everything they can to locate Abdiwahab and to inform the public of the next plan, which the family says involve nationwide protests if he is not released immediately.
This comes as Two Kenyan lawmakers on Monday threatened to take action against Interior Cabinet Secretary (CS) Dr. Fred Matiang’i and Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai if they will not come out clear and explain the abduction of Somalia Scholar Abdiwahab Sheikh Abdisamad.
Mvita Member of Parliament Abdulswamad Nassir and Mombasa Senator Mohamed Faki also want the duo to explain the recent cases where Kenyans have been killed as the country security apparatus remains silent.
The duo wondered why the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) did not address the disappearances and murders given the trove of information he could access.
Nassir said that they were planning to present a joint motion this week, and they expect the top security bosses in the country to appear in parliament in person.
Abdiswamad, 55, was abducted on Wednesday at around 10 am along Tubman Road by four people.
The four wrestled him to the ground before cuffing his hands. They then bundled him into a double cabin pick-up truck they were using.
The assailants sped off towards Muindi Mbingu Street.
Witnesses said one of them was armed with a pistol.
A missing person notice circulating on social media shows the registration number of the vehicle to be KCW341Y.
DCI boss George Kinoti promised Muslim leaders and lobbies that he would personally oversee the probe into Abdisamad’s case and apprise them in seven days.
The group that met Kinoti comprised Supkem boss Hassan ole Naado and Haki Africa executive director Hussein Khalid. They told the press that their meeting was productive and meaningful.
They said Kinoti promised them to visit the Coast in a week’s time and give them answers on the many cases of disappearances the community has encountered.
“The director promised to personally take interest in investigating the cases and apprise us on the progress or outcome in seven days time,” Naado said.
“We are also Kenyans and we must enjoy equal protection before the law. If anybody is accused of any offence, they must be accorded due process of the law.”
He complained that “a worrying trend was emerging where Muslim personalities are getting picked and their families see them no more or later pick their decomposing bodies. This is totally unfair because we are in this country by right.”
Haki Kenya boss Khalid, for his part, said despite consistent efforts by his outfit and other players to pressure the state to observe human rights, the situation has been worsening.
“We demand that our rights be respected. If anybody is suspected of any offence, he or she should be subjected to the processes prescribed by the Constitution. We, the Muslims of Kenya, demand that our fundamental rights and freedoms be respected,” he said.
Khalid termed it important for Kinoti and his team to move with speed to assure the affected families of where their loved ones are to allay fears.
