Another man Kidnapped by Armed Men in Mombasa
By Sidi Katana
Email, thecoastnewspaper@gmail.com
A 22-year-old university student has gone missing in Mombasa after he was allegedly forced into a car by heavily armed persons.
Now the family of the Umma University student Mohammed Abubakar Said have expressed fear over his life and they are appealing for help.
Said was “arrested” by an armed team at 8.30 pm on Monday evening moments after he attended evening prayers at Masjid Azhar in Majengo.
His kin say he was heading back home at Ganjoni at the time he was taken and forced into a Probox Motor vehicle.
Senator fumes
Mombasa senator Mr Mohamed Faki joined the family in calling for release of the student by whoever is holding him.
The senator urged police and other relevant security agencies protect the life of the youth and ensure he is produced as soon as possible.
He was allegedly besieged by three cars that appeared to have been waiting for him then the armed individuals bundled him into one of them, a white coloured Probox, which sped off.
At the same time, Senator Faki said the Senate is expected to debate a report of missing persons, especially at the Coast, on Tuesday.
A planned censure motion over enforced disappearances by Mombasa Senator Mohammed Faki was shelved after Mombasa businessman Abdulhakim Saggar, 40, who had been abducted and held incommunicado for over 30 days, was released.
Kidnap series
Saggar’s abduction and the consequent admission by security agents that they had held him triggered Faki’s planned motion.
“Already the planned motion on extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances is listed in the order paper of the Senate,” the senator said.
Cases of forced disappearances in Mombasa have become an order of the day.
Only last week, another man from Mombasa was abducted by people believed to be security agents at Seven Up area in Majengo.
The last Thursday of October 14, 2021 incident was reported at the Central Police Station but remains unresolved.
His friend, Ali Nassir, was also picked on Friday within the same area but was found abandoned in a street in Nairobi on Saturday morning looking dazed and confused.
He was rushed to a hospital in Nairobi’s South C for medical check-up by relatives who he had called.
Police complicity
Senator Faki said it was ironical that in all the cases, police officers within stations in the proximity of the incidents are always unaware of the happenings.
“We highly suspect these acts are done by security agents. We remind the government that the constitution provides for any suspect to be arrested and arraigned in court within 24 hours,” he said.
Police have always denied involvement in the disappearances of suspects, who inside sources always indicate have links to terrorists, terror-related activities or extremist ideas.
The family of Said described him as a religious person, who sometimes led prayers at Masjid Ibrahim in Ganjoni.
He is undertaking a Diploma in Business Management at Umma University. He is expected to complete his studies in December this year.
Norwegian Lobby
Faris Rubea, the Norwegian International Society for Justice and Peace ambassador, said they are not opposed to police doing their work, but insisted they must do their work within the confines of the law.
“If anyone among us commits a crime, there are legal ways to deal with the matter. This issue of enforced disappearances has become too much.
Abdulrahman Said Abubakar, Mohammed’s cousin, said the missing 22-year-old is the light of his generation.
“Many youth at the Coast are idle and sit in bases because there are people who have blocked opportunities for them to do something meaningful,” said Abdulrahman.
They reported the matter at Central police station under OB Number 16/15/10/2021.