Thursday April 19, 2018
By EMMANUEL WANJALA
Photos of two of the three Kenyans whom police said sneaked into Somalia on Wednesday, April 18 to join the Al Shabaab. /COURTESY
Three Kenyans have sneaked into Somalia to join the al Shabaab, police have said.
They are; Mohamed Abdalla Asman alias Papa or Raymond, Hamis Hemed alias Baloteli and Ali Ahmed Ali.
Director of communications Charles Wahong’o said Abdalla hails from Majengo, Nairobi while his two accomplices come from Malindi.
He said the three sneaked out early Wednesday with the help of local Al Shabaab contacts and are already undergoing training.
“The suspects plan to sneak back into the country to stage terror attacks. They are in contact with other suspected terrorists within the country with whom they are planning local attacks, Wahong’o said in a statement on Wednesday.
According to police records, Abdalla is a repeat al Shabaab recruit who was first arrested on October 4, 2013 while attempting to sneak to Somalia.
He was charged and jailed at the Garissa GK prison before being released on July 12, 2017 after he finished his term.
Wahong’o said his attempted entry into Somalia was facilitated by the late Islamic teacher Sheikh Ibrahim Umar alias Amru who taught him at Answar Sunna Mosque, Mtwapa, Mombasa.
Umar was shot dead by unknown people in Mombasa alongside three of his companions on October 3, 2013.
Before their escape, Hemed and Ali worked at a local hotel in Malindi.
Wahong’o regretted that there were still some Kenyans who support and facilitate the radicalization of youth to join terror groups which he said was contributing to the destruction of families and communities.
“We wish to warn parents, guardians or religious leaders withholding information on radicalization that they are liable for prosecution for abetting a crime.
Kenya has in the recent past experienced reduced terror attacks owing to enhanced security surveillance especially in key entry points.
The latest and last terror attack recorded happened on February 16 when four people, including three teachers and a wife to one of them, were butchered by suspected al Shabaab militants as they slept at a school in Wajir.
On the same day, police recovered over 36 grenades, 18 IEDs, and 5 AK-47 rifles from three suspected terrorists in Merti, Isiolo county.
One of the suspected militants was killed while two others were arrested during an ambush.
In mid-March, two suspected al-Shabaab recruiters were arrested in Takaba, Mandera as they tried to sneak out through the El-Wak - Boroache route into Somalia.