BY Hafsa Mursal
It is four days now since the Kenya- Somali Scholar Prof.Abdiwahab Sheikh Abdisamad was released
Prof. Abdiwahab was reported to have been confused after the excruciating ordeal that befell on him with his captors including being held hostage for days against his will.
Senior Counsel AhmedNasir Abdullahi confirmed through a post on his Twitter handle to have received the freed Horn of Africa analyst in his chambers in Nairobi after he paid courtesy call to him.
Dr. Abdiwahab (@AbdiwahabSheik7) visited my Chambers today. As his counsel, I debriefed him fully. He was Kidnapped and held captive for 12 days. His captors sent me their greetings and best wishes ???
…I was overwhelmed with emotion to see him alive…Happy for his family. pic.twitter.com/i0ZlrYAzXF— Ahmednasir Abdullahi SC (@ahmednasirlaw) September 23, 2021
The Kenyan-Somali scholar, who was abducted from Nairobi city centre on September 8, was grilled by agents who concealed their identities.
Prof Abdiwahab Sheikh Abdisamad, who could not identify the abductors, said through a relative that he was also disarmed of his pistol loaded with 15 rounds of ammunition, which was returned to him upon his release by the captors in Nairobi South C estate on Sunday evening.
Just like Mombasa businessman Abdulhakim Salim Sagar, who was abducted on August 18 and released last Sunday, Abdisamad was given Sh2,000 for bus fare after more than 10 days in captivity.
Controversial scholar
The controversial scholar was abducted from Tubman Road near City Market as he walked to a hotel to meet a friend.
He was then taken to a safe house in an area he could not recognise where his abductors talked to him through speakers mounted in the house.
According to Abdisamad relatives, the agents wore balaclavas all the time they engaged him and gave him his medicine on time, fed him on time, provided a room for his prayers, and provided him with a warm shower.
The men appeared to know so much about him and at one point even showed him photos he had taken during a trip to Somalia.
The scholar, who is the Executive Director of the Institute for Horn of Africa Strategic Studies and an analyst at Southlink Consultants, said he could not recognise his abductors.
Abdisamad told his relatives that his abductors were interested in his activities and connections in Somalia and regional security.
“The abductors kept asking him questions on Kenyan security issues, terrorism, and the maritime case pending at an international court and his connection.
Kenya has been in a long-running maritime boundary dispute with Somalia at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
In March, Kenya said it will not take in the hearings and accused the ICJ of bias in the case, which concerns a 62,000 sq miles (160,000 sq km) triangle in the Indian Ocean.
The area is thought to be rich in oil and gas. ICJ will deliver the long-awaited verdict on October 12.
At one point, his abductors tabled three passports from Kenya, Somalia, and Turkey and asked him to choose one. He chose the Kenyan one.
He did not explain what happened with the rest and why the passports were produced. “I think they wanted to test his loyalty. He is a Kenyan from Wajir county,” said the relative.