Family agonises over abducted son as cases rise in Northeastern

On the night of May 1, unknown men in combat police uniforms raided the home of Issack Ibrahim in three land cruisers.

They stormed his house in Bulla Afya location of Elwak, Mandera South constituency, and drove away with him. It was about 1am.

Ibrahim has not been seen nor has his family heard from him since. The 32-year-old is a driver at Elwak municipality.

Hours after the incident, chief Isaac Musa reported the matter at Elwak police station and obtained the OB number 15/02/05/24.

Even with the report, there has been no progress and the family is appealing to authorities to help them locate their kin. His brother Hussein Ibrahim says the family has known no peace.

"We believe his abductors are state security agents. His ordeal was painful because he was dragged out of his house through the window," Hussein told reporters in Nairobi.

The family has since moved to the High Court in Nairobi praying for orders compelling the state to produce Ibrahim in court.

The family has sued Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations demanding that they take responsibility for the actions of their officers.

"The whereabouts of my biological brother Issack Ibrahim remain unknown and unaccounted for an there is reasonable fear that he was abducted by officers attached to the respondents whom have refused to either allow his family to visit him in custody or refused to present him in court," Hussein says in his affidavit.

Through lawyers Danstan Omari and Shadrack Wambui, the family accuse police of violating the Constitution by not presenting Ibrahim in court.

"The family will continue to live with anxiety and stress caused by the forced disappearance and abduction of their loved one unless this honourable court intervenes and compels the respondents to produce Issack Ibrahim," Omari states in court documents.

The lawyer said Ibrahim's continued detention was against the constitution and that they have written to security agencies to have him arraigned to face any charges.

"Being held incommunicado is uncivilised, illegal and against the tenets of democracy that we enjoy in this country," he said.

This is not an isolated case as instances of abduction and forced disappearances have risen in recent months across border counties in Northeastern including Garissa, Wajir and Mandera.

On March 30, 2021, former Mandera councillor Ali Isaak Shama was abducted in Nairobi's Eastleigh area. He has not been seen since. 

"Since then, the abductions have become too much. That's why we are appealing to the head of state to stop this spate of abductions," Mandera businessman Mohammed Rashid Hussein said.

"Of course there is a law. But it is like there is some other jungle law where people are abducted and executed in ways that we don't understand." 

Last week, Garissa MCAs raised concern over the increasing cases of disappearance in the region. They claimed the abductions were orchestrated by state security agents.

Liboi MCA Abdirahman Ali Sheikh who spoke on behalf of the ward reps said despite the local leadership raising the alarm, "nothing seems to change".

“We are here to raise our serious concerns about the enforced disappearance and extra judicial killings of our people which unfortunately have become a norm in this part of the country,” Sheikh said.

In Nairobi on Monday, Mandera elders and businessmen asked President William Ruto to intervene.

"These forced disappearances and abductions have been happening even during former President Uhuru Kenyatta's tenure. It has worsened," elder Ugas Ali Malow said.

"That's why we are appealing to his excellency the President to intervene because he has previously said extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances will not happen under his watch."