Riddle of a Mandera man who escaped Shabaab firing squad with a chain on his leg

A man allegedly kidnapped by Al-Shabaab militants and taken to Somalia escaped and sneaked back to Kenya with a chain on his leg.

Meanwhile, two children were injured in Kotulo while playing with an explosive device.

On Monday, Mohamed Ibrahim Abdi was dropped off on a road from a vehicle that then sped off before anybody could read its plate numbers.

A few minutes later, a local chief, his assistant and a police reservist came to the scene and found Mr Abdi with a long chain on his leg.

The chief called security agents from the Elwak Police Station, who took Mr Abdi with them. Upon interrogation, he claimed he had been in captivity.

Mr Abdi claimed to be a herdsman who was kidnapped by suspected Shabaab militants, said Mandera County Directorate of Criminal Investigations boss Benedict Kigen.

The man claimed he had sneaked out of Somalia and crossed back into Kenya, Mr Kigen said.

He was allegedly taken hostage by three armed men, who took him to their camp in Somalia, the detective said.

Mr Abdi claimed he was ambushed by his abductors on Wednesday last week.

Terror group

“He has told us that the abductors accused him of being a Kenyan government informer against the terror group. They took away his mobile phone and after interrogations, they announced [that he would be executed],” Mr Kigen said.

Mr Abdi told the police that after the decision to kill him was made, he was chained to a tree to wait for his execution by a firing squad.

“While tied on a tree and left alone, I struggled and managed to break the chain and sneak away but with the same long chain on my leg,” Mr Abdi told the police.

He said he found another man tied to a tree at the execution site but because they were far apart, they could not communicate.

“Immediately I managed to unchain myself from the tree, I walked overnight back home,” he said.

Detained man

He said he could not identify the other detained man.

He maintained that he had not shared anything with government agencies about the militants or aided the terror group in carrying out attacks in Mandera.

“I was searching for my lost camels when the armed men captured me, accusing me of being a government spy,” he said.

The terror group has a history of executing members labelled traitors. 

Mr Kigen said the man is still with security agencies in Mandera South as investigators try to unravel how he was abducted.

A security source said the man will remain in custody until they verify his story. They will then decide what to do with him.

“If found innocent, then we will have to ensure his security out there because the enemy will still look for him now that he has shared his ordeal with us,” the officer said.

Shabaab returnees

Several sources have said that recent terror incidents in some parts of Mandera are about forcing the local community to release Shabaab returnees to rejoin the group as the Somalia government intensifies its war against them.

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has announced a relentless war against the jihadists, urging locals to join the fight against them.

“Since everyone turned against Al-Shabaab in Somalia, they are now forcing local communities in Kenya to release their youths to rejoin the group and fight the government,” our source said.

The source said militants on the border want to intimidate local communities but clan elders have refused to let the returnees go back to Somalia.

Meanwhile, two children suffered life-threatening injuries after an explosive they collected in grazing fields exploded as they played with it.

The incident happened on Sunday in Danacity, Kotulo sub-county.

The two – Mohamed Adan Ibrahim, 13 and Fardosa Ibrahim Kula 14 – were looking after family livestock when the incident happened, said their father, Mr Aden Ibrahim.

Adan lost a leg and was referred to Hawasa hospital in Ethiopia for further treatment, while Fardosa was admitted to Elwak Sub-County Hospital with injuries in his abdomen, legs and head.

Security agencies

The device was an old explosive that could have been dropped by security agencies while training in the area, Mr Kigen said.

The incident happened exactly a month after two children were killed in Wargadud, Mandera South, when an explosive that they had picked up in a field exploded.

“We urge parents to guide their children against picking up anything metallic found in grazing fields. [It] might be an explosive, as we are witnessing,” Mr Kigen said.