Five Kenyan chiefs abducted by Al-Shabaab safely reunited with families
The five are Mohamed Adawa, Mohamed Hassan, Abdi Hassan, Mohamed Noor Hache and Assistant Chief Ibrahim Gabow.
Five chiefs who were recently released in Somalia after being abducted by al-Shabaab gunmen while travelling from Wargadud to Elwak town have today arrived safely and reunited with their families, who received them in Buur Hache, a town along the Kenya–Somalia border.
The five are: Mohamed Adawa, Mohamed Hassan, Abdi Hassan, Mohamed Noor Hache, and Assistant Chief Ibrahim Gabow.
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Residents from Elwak also joined the families and relatives to celebrate the safe return of the chiefs.
The chiefs were released from captivity in Jilib, Somalia, on Sunday, April 6, and the process of reuniting them with their families started immediately.
“We have good news that our chiefs who were abducted in Mandera have been released and they are now in the hands of Kenyan officials and they will be arriving home anytime soon,” said Interior and National Coordination Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen on Monday, a day after the chiefs were released.
He attributed the successful release to a collaborative approach between the national government, the Mandera County Government, and local communities.
The Interior CS noted that the government had earlier pledged to work closely with the affected communities to resolve the crisis.
"As I announced before, as a government, we decided to work together with the community and county government of Mandera and the local community. The process has borne fruit,” he stated, adding that further details regarding the chiefs' location and well-being within the country would be provided in due course.
The five chiefs were reportedly held in separate locations within the Jilib area of Somalia, according to early accounts shared by a group of Kenyan elders who have been in Somalia for approximately two months.
Jilib, a town located around 400 kilometres from Mandera, is currently under the control of the militant group al-Shabaab.
The chiefs were abducted along the Wargadud–Elwak Road as they travelled to Elwak town for official duties, just hours before President William Ruto arrived in Mandera to begin his week-long political tour of Kenya’s North Eastern region.
While addressing residents during his visit, President Ruto assured the public that the government was fully committed to securing the release of the five abducted officials.
“Hawa machief lazima warudi nyumbani. Jana hawa magaidi walitaka kuleta hali ya hofu eneo hili; walidhani wakifanya hivyo sitakuja Mandera. Mimi nimekuja Mandera na nikalala Mandera na ikizidi ntalala Mandera,” said Ruto.
Ruto further vowed to decimate the militia group, which has been reigning terror in the region.
“We are not going to cede an inch of our country to criminals…we will go after them, deal with them and eliminate them,” he said.
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