Lamu family cries for justice as fisherman is abducted from home in Kiunga
Authorities, however, have offered little reassurance. Lamu County Commissioner Wesley Koech told journalists he was unaware of any security operation in Kiunga on the night of the disappearance but promised that investigations would be carried out to establish Mohammed’s whereabouts.
For more than two weeks, the family of 41-year-old fisherman Mohammed Mohammed has been living a nightmare, desperate for answers after he was snatched from his home by masked men and vanished without a trace.
The incident occurred on the night of September 12, 2025, when armed men in balaclavas stormed Mohammed’s residence in Kiunga Ward, Lamu County.
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According to relatives, the assailants, believed by some to be security personnel, bundled him into a vehicle before disappearing into the darkness. Since that night, no one has heard from him.
“We have knocked on every government door and contacted all security agencies, but none of them claims to know anything about my brother,” said Ali Omar Mohammed, his brother.
“The Anti-Terror Police Unit, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in Kiunga and Lamu, all have denied holding him. Yet Mohammed was taken right from his home, and no one can explain how or why,” he added.
The family’s anguish has only deepened as days turn into weeks. With no official confirmation of any police operation in the area that night, suspicions of an enforced disappearance are growing, a fear shared by human rights groups working in the region.
Haki Africa, a human rights organisation that has long documented cases of forced disappearances along Kenya’s coastline, has joined calls for accountability.
Rapid Response Officer, Mathias Shipeta, described the case as deeply concerning and urged swift action.
“The manner of the abduction suggests possible involvement of state agencies. If that is the case, authorities must come clean. If not, then they have a duty to investigate how such an incident could occur without their knowledge,” Shipeta said.
Haki Africa’s Executive Director, Yusuf Abubakar, expressed frustration that such cases continue to surface despite improved cooperation between communities and security forces, particularly in the Boni region, which has been vulnerable to militant activity.
“The President has publicly declared that abductions must stop. It is now the responsibility of the security agencies to ensure Mohammed is safely returned to his family, and they must do so urgently,” Yusuf noted.
Authorities, however, have offered little reassurance. Lamu County Commissioner Wesley Koech told journalists he was unaware of any security operation in Kiunga on the night of the disappearance but promised that investigations would be carried out to establish Mohammed’s whereabouts.
For now, Mohammed’s family continues to wait, clinging to fading hope and holding on to the memory of a man whose life revolved around the sea.
“We just want to know if he is alive. We deserve to know what happened to him,” Ali said.
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