Abducted chiefs: PS Omollo rules out military force to rescue them
Internal Security and National Administration Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo.
Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo has denied reports that the state has abandoned the five Mandera chiefs now in the hands of the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab terrorist group.
Speaking on KTN's morning show on Wednesday, Dr Omollo said the government was not silent on the rescue of the abducted chiefs.
“There has been silence on the issue of the abducted chiefs but there is definitely a lot that is going on, some of which we may not be able to discuss on air,” Dr Omollo said.
He indicated that the government was not keen on using the military to raid the areas where the chiefs are being held inside Somalia to free them.
“As much as we are engaging and keeping the country secure, we don’t want to end up losing lives that ordinarily we would be able to save,” he said.
Dr Omollo said the government remained committed to securing their release and that the Somali authorities are being engaged.
“We are constantly engaging. The abductors crossed into our neighbouring country. The borders are a temporary distinction between our countries but the communities are basically the same,” he said.
“There is an active engagement that will eventually see to it that they are safely back in the country and resume their duties.”
According to Dr Omollo, the kidnapping of the five chiefs remains everyone's concern, including the state's. He acknowledged that the abductions means that no one is immune to the insecurity posed by the Al-Shabaab terrorist group.
“Security is everyone’s concern and these are chiefs working for a ministry that is about security. This demonstrates that none of us is immune to some of this insecurity,” he said.
According to the PS, terrorism remains complex and the government is working to avoid a situation where officers could be harmed.
Although Dr Omollo reiterated the commitment to rescuing the chiefs, families of the missing chiefs in Mandera say they have heard nothing from the government.
“We have yet to hear from or even get a government officer visiting us and updating us on the search and rescue of our family members,” Mr Mohamed Okash, a relative, said by phone.
He said a group of elders sent by the community to Somalia had yet to meet with militant representatives.
“What we know so far is that our relatives are still alive but held separately in the Jilib area,” he said.
On February 4, President William Ruto ordered Deputy Inspector-General of Police Gilbert Masengeli to lead the rescue operation.
The chiefs in captivity include Mr Adawa Abdi Mohamed, Mr Mohamed Hassan Kalumia, Mr Mohamednur Hache, Mr Abdi Hassan Suraw and Mr Ibrahim Gabow.
Commenting on the recent mysterious reappearance of the Wajir County Assembly member after about six months in captivity, Dr Omollo said the state security agencies were interested in hearing his story.
“It will be interesting to find out what really happened during these six months. At one point, we had a body recovered in Wajir and someone could be asking themselves maybe there were two MCAs -- one abducted and killed and another one abducted and finally has shown up. It will be good that we hold people to account,” he said, without elaborating.
“It is not the government policy to abduct and where there are excesses we have a robust mechanism to hold people to account, particularly government officers.”