Garissa residents call for end to abductions, torture by suspected State agents

A frail-looking and mentally disturbed Mohamud Abdullahi Hirey lay on a mattress on the floor of his elder brother’s house in Garissa town.

He was surrounded by relatives and friends who had earlier been searching for him since he was waylaid and abducted.

He had a swollen head, bloodshot eyes and a fresh wound on his left wrist. Crutches to support his mobility were placed next to his bedding, all these revealing the ordeal he underwent while in captivity.

On July 27, the same day President William Ruto reminded Kenyans of his campaign pledge to end forced disappearances and extrajudicial killings, Mohamud was abducted together with one of his passengers, Idle Farah Buub, in Modikor on the Garissa-Madogashe road.

In an interview, with The Eastleigh Voice, he narrated his harrowing experience in the hands of his abductors before he was released and thrown out of a moving car in Madogo, Tana River County.

On the fateful day, Mohamud, a transporter based in Ohiyo, Balambala Sub-County, was on his normal routine of picking up passengers at Garissa Ndogo bus stage in Garissa town. Unknown to him, among the passengers he was ferrying was one being trailed by security officers in civilian clothing.

About 10 km from Garissa town, he noticed two vehicles pursuing them at a high speed.

One of the vehicles, a white Toyota Prado TX, overtook them and blocked his way from the front as the other one blocked him from behind.

“Four hooded armed men came to my car and ordered us to get out before firing in the air, which made us panic and confused, wondering what was going on,” he said.

They then tried to forcefully remove him and the targeted passenger from the vehicle. They both resisted, resulting in a fistfight.

“After realising we were not giving in, they called for help and officers in a vehicle mounted with a big machine gun arrived at the scene,” he narrated.

According to Mohamud, upon arrival, one officer hit him on the head with the butt of a G3 gun rifle and he fell on the ground.

Environment CS Aden Duale consoles Luli Iman whose son Abdihakim Mohamed Hassan was abducted early this year. (Photo: Issa Hussein)

Together with his passenger, they were both handcuffed, blindfolded and heaved up with their feet dangling in the air. The businessman was bundled into the TX car while the suspect was shoved into the other vehicle.

Traumatic ordeal

They were driven to an unknown destination and what followed was a traumatic ordeal of torture and interrogation.

“All they wanted to know was my relationship with the suspect and how much I knew about him,” Mohamud said.

“I told the officers that I didn’t know Idle Farah but I just knew him as one of my passengers whom I met for the first time on that day when he boarded my vehicle. My explanations fell on deaf ears as they continued torturing me and pressing my private parts, an ordeal that has left me traumatised and in pain.”

Mohamud said he overheard the suspect telling the officers that he never owned a gun and was not involved in any clan militia activities.

After almost three hours of torture in a thicket, they were taken back to the vehicles, still blindfolded. they embarked on another two-hour journey to a destination he said had an underground cell.

“Here we met another brutal team that subjected me to more beatings and torture. In the process, a hot iron bar was pressed to my left arm as they asked me the same questions about my relationship with the suspect,” he said as tears formed in his eyes.

He pleaded with them to either believe him or shoot him dead since he was unable to withstand the painful torture.

After prolonged torture, he got a two-hour reprieve before being moved out of the underground cell and bundled into a waiting car for the next destination.

“After a two-hour drive, one of my abductors removed my handcuffs, handed back my cell phone and threw me out of the vehicle,” he said.

Mohamud Abdullahi Hirey. (Photo: Handout)

After removing his blindfold Mohamud found himself in Madogo, about five kilometres from Garissa town.

He called a relative who picked him up and took him to the hospital. A day later, he recorded a statement at the Garissa Police Station.

Locals, led by Sankuri Ward MCA Abdirahman Mohamed and his Garissa Township counterpart Hussein Mohamed, protested at the police station over the abduction of Mohamud and his passenger, who is still missing.

They questioned why the abduction and extrajudicial killings continued with impunity despite the president's promise to end the malpractice.

Target

Sankuri claimed all recent abductions targeted one particular community and were a result of inter-communal land disputes.

Garissa Township Sub-County Police Commander, Edward Imbwaga defended his officers saying they were not involved in the incident.

He said officers from other counties pursuing a suspect outside their jurisdictions were required to book their intended activities and that his office was never notified of any intended operation in Garissa Township by security officers from another county.

Imbwaga advised victims of abductions to record statements on the incident and promised to get to the bottom of the matter.

Mohamud’s abduction came hot on the heels of that of his cousin Osman Yussuf Gure on February 6 in Nunow village. He is still missing.

His cousin’s wives Hindia Ketsane and Fatuma Dubat sued the Inspector-General of Police, the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and Iftin Police Station seeking the release of their husband whom they claimed was arrested by police officers.

Before his disappearance, the family claimed Osman was arrested twice on allegations of possession of a gun without a firearm certificate.

His wives said he was released on bond and was to appear for a hearing on April 11 but allegedly was abducted before the court date.

However, in a replying affidavit, Police Constable Joseph Mutonya attached to DCI Garissa defended the law enforcers saying Osman was in hiding trying to evade the criminal justice system for offences he committed.

On July 18, Garissa High Court’s presiding judge J.N.Onyiego dismissed the case.

“The allegations that Osman was abducted by the police officers are not supported by evidence. I do not find any merit in the application hence I dismiss the case,” ruled the judge.

Following the recent abduction of Mohamud and Idle, the Garissa Township MP Dekow Barrow and his Fafi counterpart Salah Yaqub last week raised the matter in parliament, questioning why abduction, torture and extrajudicial killings were still happening in the area.

Two months ago, Dadaab MP Farah Maalim and nominated MP Ummulkheir Harun petitioned the president over youths abducted at the border towns of Liboi and Holugho, and who are still missing.

In May when Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua visited Garissa to assess the impacts of the River Tana floods, Luli Iman, a mother whose son was abducted, interrupted Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale’s speech at Hyuga Girls.

She wailed while pleading to the state to release her son Abdihakim Mohamed Hassan who was abducted at a petrol station in Garissa town.

In the wake of the increased cases of abductions and forced disappearances, two weeks ago, the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances revealed that the Kenyan government is yet to honour an official request to visit the country.

According to the group’s chairperson Aua Baldè, the government is yet to honour the request made in July 2020. The group carries out official field visits at the invitation of governments.

This delay, coupled with the fact that Kenya is yet to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances which the country signed in 2007, also raises questions on the goodwill of the previous and current governments to address increasing cases of enforced disappearances in the country.