A pastoralist family in Lamu county wants the government to help them trace their missing relative.
The family of 45-year-old Jibril Dagane from Koreni village in Lamu West has for the past month been worried after the father of 11 was abducted by people believed to be part of the Kenya forces and has been missing since.
Jibril and two other herders were looking after cattle between Hindi and Bar’goni area on September 21 this year when armed men ambushed them.
Two of the herders managed to escape and hid in the forest while Jibril was taken by the assailants to an unknown place.
Efforts by the family to search for Jibril have been unsuccessful.
His disappearance was reported at Hindi police station in Lamu West and recorded under OB Number 08/22/09/2023.
Speaking to the Star on Monday, family members pleaded with the government to help them trace Jibril whom they described as a hardworking and peace-loving citizen who has never found himself on the wrong side of the law.
His cousin, Shukri Shuriye Dagane said she believes those who abducted him are security officers.
“We don’t get any sleep as a family, just thinking about Jibril. His 11 children are suffering as my cousin is the sole breadwinner. His disappearance has weighed heavily on the health of some of us. Let the Lamu security help us trace Jibril,” Shuriye said.
Mohamed Jibril said they have visited various police stations to look for his uncle without success.
Since the herder’s disappearance, the community has also formed groups that have been conducting searches in Boni Forest with the help of the National Police Reservists.
“We don’t understand whether my uncle is in the hands of the security agencies or criminals. We’re worried about his situation. We hope he is alive wherever he is. Efforts to reach him have been unsuccessful as his phone is off,” Mohamed said.
Lamu Pastoralist Community spokesperson Muhumed Kalmey said many times the herder communities, particularly those living in Koreni in Lamu West have lived in fear and worry as their villages have on several occasions been targeted by security agencies looking for criminals and weapons.
“As pastoralists, we feel we’re unfairly targeted in the war on terror. We’re tired of the continued intimidation by security agencies here. We’ve witnessed scenarios where security agencies conduct impromptu searches in our houses here in Koreni. We’re peace-loving citizens. Let the government stop viewing us as criminals or terrorists,” Kalmey said.
Abdulrahman Yusuf said instead of the government perceiving the pastoralists as people hiding criminals or guns, it is high time it stops discriminating or treating them like terrorists.
“We’ve no issues. We’re looking forward to the government to incorporate us in their search for criminals,” Yusuf said.
During an earlier interview, Lamu county commissioner Louis Rono said he was aware of the report about the missing herder.
He, however, dismissed any security involvement in the disappearance.
“The elders approached me but I advised them to report to the police which they did. Search efforts are on for the missing pastoralist. No one is being targeted or harassed as alleged,” Rono said.
