Three abducted clerics return after 12 days in custody

The three Muslim clerics who were abducted 1almost two weeks ago from their homes in Mtondia, Kilifi county, have returned.

Khalid Swaleh alias Kaka, Ustadh Juma Shamte and gardener Hassan Onyango showed up at the Markaz Noor mosque and madrassa on Tuesday evening, looking shocked and confused after 12 days in custody without being charged.

They were picked from their houses at around 2am on August 16, blindfolded and bundled into vans before being driven around.

The mystery surrounding their abduction and subsequent return has baffled their families, who have now gone silent.

Attempts to have the three speak to the Star have been futile, with their protective families saying they are not teady to speak.

“They are disoriented. They look confused but they are in good health,” one of the family members who requested anonymity said.

Following their return, Mombasa Senator Mohammed Faki on Thursday said Kenya has nothing to celebrate about the 2020 Constitution whose 10-year existence was marked with trepidation instead of pomp and colour.

Faki, Markaz Noor chairman Swaleh Awadh, treasurer Amin Magram and lawyer Khalid Salim said the three were released on a street in Nairobi on Tuesday before traveling by bus to Mombasa the same day, showing up at their houses at night.

“We believe this was done by the police,” Senator Faki said.

“We are marking 10 years since we got the new Constitution. However, it is sad that we mark this day when the ills that were perpetrated during the old constitution are still being done with impunity,” Faki added.

He said the manner in which Khalid and his colleagues were taken from their houses in the wee hours of Sunday 13 days ago is unjustified.

"The three should have been summoned for questioning instead of being ambushed at night in a manner suggesting they had already been branded guilty," he said.

“The Constitution is not just a book. It something that is alive. It must be shown through action that there are human rights that are protected by the Constitution,” said the Senator.

He said Kenya cannot talk about human rights being protected when three people can be taken from their houses in the wee hours of the morning, be blindfolded and taken round several counties, held for 12 days incommunicado and then be released without being charged.

“Let the courts do their work. One should be charged, if there is anything to charge them with,” the legislator said.

The senator, Khalid and his colleague’s lawyer and the management of Markaz Noor on Wednesday met Coast regional coordinator John Elungata who assured them that the probe into the incident.

“He told us that was a criminal incident,” Faki said.

“He should ensure that those criminals involved in the abduction of the three are arrested and prosecuted.”

According to the Constitution, the police should present a suspect in court within 24 hopurs upon arrest.

Lawyer Khalid Salim said it is a shame that this happens in this era, when Kenya has a new constitution, deemed one of the most progressive in the world, which protects human rights.

Markaz Noor chairman Swaleh Awadh said they thank God for allowing the safe return of Khalid and his colleagues.

“The government should be our protectors. Whether they were involved or not, the government should ensure Kenyans’ safety,” Awadh said.

He called for protection of Muslim clerics across the country, especially at the Coast.

Edited by EKibii