Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) boss George Kinoti has launched investigations into the alleged abduction and disappearance of Somali scholar Sheikh Abdiwahab in Nairobi CBD on Wednesday.
Reports indicate that DCI Kinoti committed to investigating the matter after he met with a delegation of Muslim faithful led by the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims (SUPKEM) chair Hassan Ole Naado and Jamia Mosque deputy secretary-general Hussein Abdinasir on Friday at the DCI Headquarters along Kiambu road.
During the meeting, the Muslim leaders raised concerns affecting their faithful and sought DCI’s partnership in combating the issues.
According to reports, one of the issues that came up was the disappearance of the Somali scholar, where the DCI assured the leaders that the matter will be investigated fully.
The family of Abdiwahab sheikh Abdiswamad on Thursday demanded answers from the government over his disappearance, following reports that he was abducted in the CBD.
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“We went to Central police station yesterday, we went to the scene where he was taken, we don’t have any information regarding where he has been taken,” the family told the media on Thursday at their home in South C, Nairobi.
Abdiswamad’s wife Halima Mohammed noted that her husband does not have any criminal links, adding that she does not understand what led to his alleged abduction.
“If he has done any wrong, which he has never done, he has never been into police custody before…They can arraign him in court. Otherwise, if other people have taken him, the government has duty to bring him to the family,” she said.
Human Rights Group Haki Africa on Thursday vowed to move to court seeking orders compelling the government to provide the missing scholar.
“If it is not the police, then it is still the duty of the police to search for Mr Abdiswamad and to make sure that he is reunited with his family,” Haki Africa Executive Director Hussein Khalid told the media.
Reacting to the alleged abduction, Law Society of Kenya President Nelson Havi expressed his disappointment on the rising trend of people being reported missing, yet the government has invested in sophisticated surveillance technology.
“Kidnapping of Abdiwahab Shiekh Abdiswamad adds to the growing number of disappearances in Kenya. It is intolerable that these crimes cannot be prevented or the perpetrators apprehended with the high tech surveillance equipment at the disposal of the police. IG, where are you?” he tweeted.
Abdiswamad is a prominent scholar and analyst with vast knowledge of the happenings in Somalia and around the Horn of Africa.
He is the Executive Director of the Institute for Horn of Africa Strategic Studies.
