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Police Link Two Suspects to Al-Shabaab, Say They Planned to Abduct Foreign Workers, Mandera
Police in Mandera County have arrested two men suspected of planning to kidnap foreign workers in Mandera East.
Mandera County Criminal Investigations Officer (CCIO) Pius Gitari said the suspects are believed to be linked to the terrorist group al-Shabaab.
“We have arrested two suspects connected to al-Shabaab activities in Mandera. We are questioning them before taking them to court,” Gitari said over the phone.
The suspects, Isaack Abdi Mohamed (also called Kharan Abdi Hassan) and Noor Yakub Ali, are being held at Mandera Police Station by the Anti-Terror Police Unit (ATPU).
Abdi is said to have entered Kenya illegally and used fake documents to move around freely.
A police report stated, “The suspect, Isaack Abdi Mohamed, also known as Kharan Abdi Hassan, is about 29 years old and is believed to be from Somalia. He entered Kenya recently and got a fake Kenyan ID card.”
During questioning, Abdi allegedly admitted that he planned to kidnap Chinese workers and doctors in Mandera Township. He also said he was working with Noor Yakub Ali, a 29-year-old Kenyan who was arrested in Mandera Township.
Security sources said Abdi had traveled from El-Ade, Somalia, and paid about Sh100,000 to a local resident to help with the kidnapping. The foreigners work on a sewerage project near the Kenya-Somalia border.
The Mandera Water and Sewerage Project, started in 2018, is run by Sinohydro Corporation Limited, a Chinese company. The project, funded by the African Development Bank (AFDB), has faced delays due to security issues and the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the beginning of the project, Chinese officials refused a plan to house workers in a military base for security.
Gitari said the suspects were arrested after police received intelligence. Authorities revealed that the two planned to take their captives to El-Ade for a ransom of Sh300,000.
This arrest reminds people of the April 12, 2020, case where suspected al-Shabaab militants kidnapped two Cuban doctors, Dr. Assel Herrera Correa and Dr. Landy Rodriguez Hernandez, in Mandera. They were on their way to work when armed men stopped them and took them to Somalia.
During the attack, police officer Constable Mutundo Kitambo, assigned to protect the doctors, was killed. Another officer escaped unharmed. Their driver, Issack Ibrein Robow, was later jailed for life for terrorism.
The latest arrests come at a time when security operations in Mandera have increased after five local chiefs were kidnapped and taken to Somalia.
Family members of the missing chiefs confirmed that they are being held in different places in Jilib, Somalia. Clan elders from Mandera are currently in Jilib, trying to secure their release.
In another case in Elwak, Mandera South, two police officers were arrested after a terror suspect escaped from Elwak Police Station.
The suspect, Muse Muhumed Abdule, was in custody since February 9 but escaped on February 14 after attending a court session in Mandera.
Authorities continue to strengthen security in Mandera to stop terrorist activities and prevent more kidnappings of government workers and foreign nationals in the area.