Authorities have run out of leads in the investigation into the disappearance of a Wajir Assistant County Commissioner who went missing a month ago.
Mr Hussein Abdirahman Mohamed, who is also a manager for the Wajir Huduma Centre, went missing on July 8, a day after attending a public event in town.
Days later, his mobile signal was traced to Bomet town- close to 600km from Wajir town where he was last seen- but the lead didn’t yield anything useful to assist in the search for the missing official.
“The security teams in Rift Valley gave us negative feedback, leaving us to conclude that his SIM card had been swapped,” said North Eastern Regional Commissioner John Otieno.
Mr Otieno said security agencies are still puzzled by his disappearance as he appealed for public assistance to crack the case.
“Anybody with any information that will lead to finding this officer is welcome to share it with our security teams so that we can trace him,” Mr Otieno said as he assured the family of the government’s commitment to finding the missing officer.
Mr Mohamed was last seen at his place of work at 9am on July 8, a day after attending a public event graced by Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku.
“He was on leave but came back from Bute to attend an event in Tarbaj. It was reported that he went missing a day later,” Wajir County Commissioner Karuku Ngumo told Daily Nation.
According to Mr Otieno, Mr Mohamed had never reported any threats on his life.
“He could report to work and lock himself in his office,” said the colleague who spoke on condition of anonymity.
But the man described as an introvert by those who knew him in Wajir town had previously worked at Dadaab in Garissa County.
A senior security officer in the region told Daily Nation that Mr Mohamed was transferred from Dadaab under a cloud of suspicion.
Mr Ahmed Mohamed Hajj, a brother, said Mr Mohamed had confided in him about having been interrogated by an officer from the National Intelligence Service (NIS).
But he never revealed why he was interrogated, Mr Hajj said.
Mr Ngumo, however, denied suggestions that security agencies were trailing Mr Mohamed.
He added that the officer was not a person of interest to security agencies by the time he was reported missing.
Initial reports from local police indicated that Mr Mohamed had hinted at travelling to the Democratic Republic of Congo on a business trip.
Family members of Wajir County assistant county commissioner, Mr Hussein Abdirahman Mohammed, who has been missing since July 8, 2025, at the Milimani High Court on July 24, 2025 with lawyer Danstan Omari.
Photo credit: Photo | Richard Munguti
It was said that he had borrowed money from local banks, but the family denied the claims.
“The issue of going to DRC is a rumour. We still don’t have much information about it as far as his search and investigations are concerned,” Mr Ngumo said.
In a letter dated July 30 and addressed to the Inspector General of Police, Eldas MP Adan Keynan questioned the government's silence on the issue.
Mr Keynan sought to know if security agencies have collected and analysed surveillance footage, forensic evidence, mobile phone tracking data or eyewitness accounts to reconstruct Mr Mohamed’s last movements.
His family has described his disappearance as “out of character, deeply alarming, and emotionally devastating.”
“The matter is before the courts, but nothing seems to come our way. The police are yet to produce him in court as ordered,” Mr Sahal Ahmed Omar, a relative, said.
In Wajir, Mr Ngumo maintained that the matter was under active investigation, but there had not been any breakthrough.
“This is an interesting scenario because nobody has ever come forward since the officer went missing. It is common in the local community to trace anybody missing and know where he or she is hiding,” Mr Ngumo said.
After graduating from Egerton University, Mr Mohamed joined the civil service in 2015 as an Assistant County Commissioner at Dadaab in Garissa.
The family of the missing Wajir Huduma Center Manager and deputy commissioner, Hussein Mohamed, at the Milimani High Court after filing a habeas corpus application against IG Douglas Kanja.
Photo credit: Richard Munguti| Nation Media Group
The alumnus of Sabuley Secondary School in Wajir East was later transferred to Balambala in the same capacity and thereafter to Wajir in 2022.
“There is enough security within and around government offices. Someone cannot disappear from his place of work just like that,” he said.
