•He was abducted by about six men in two vehicles, a Toyota Land Cruiser and a Toyota Probox, both white.
•Muhuri rapid response officer Francis Auma said Mwafujo’s lawyer Chacha Mwita had said he had been frustrated as he sought the release of his client.
Image: BRIAN OTIENO
After six years of incarceration, Amani Mohamed Mwafujo, 35, was happy he would finally meet his ailing 72-year-old mother Mariam Mohamed Mfumbire.
Her health problems had been exacerbated by the news of his arrest in 2016.
Both mother and son had not seen each other since, and they made their common wish known–that she would like him to bury her once she dies.
Mfumbire survived a stint in the ICU at the Msambweni Referral Hospital in January.
Family members said she had fought hard to stay alive to see Mwafujo, her eighth born son, whom she somehow believed would walk out of Shimo la Tewa prison sooner rather than later.
When Kwale senior principal magistrate Joe Omido on Friday acquitted Mwafujo of all the 10 counts of the terror-related charges he was facing, the family somehow knew their wish would come true.
On Monday, as he walked out of Shimo la Tewa in the company of his elder sister Ramla Mohamed Mwafujo, a scene almost similar to the one that had haunted him for six years happened again.
He was abducted by about six men in two vehicles, a Toyota Land Cruiser and a Toyota Probox, both white.
“After crossing the road to board a matatu to Majengo in Mvita, from Shimo la Tewa, a short man in maroon clothes approached us and greeted Amani ‘Ustadh, hujambo?”Ramla said.
She however suspected the man because her brother was not an Ustadh but a History and Kiswahili teacher at Tawheed Secondary School at Denyenye in Kwale.
“Mwafujo responded but I cautioned him against responding to names that are not his. I told him I suspected the man is a DCI officer sent to monitor him,” Ramla said.
A matatu came, they boarded, but less than a kilometre away, near Shanzu Teachers College, the Land Cruiser blocked the matatu from the front while the Probox parked beside the matatu.
“I saw people come out of the cars. They said they wanted Mwafujo whom they called a ‘mang’aa’,” Ramla said.
They pulled Ramla aside and took Mwafujo, who was seated between her and another passenger on the seat right behind the conductor's seat.
“They were armed with guns and had handcuffs. My mom is sick. When she hears this she might get shocked and die. She has heart problems,” she said.
“I don’t know where they have taken him. I know I will never see my brother again. Please help us.”
Ramla questioned why they had taken Mwafujo yet he was innocent.
She spoke on Monday at the Muslims for Human Rights Legal Aid Clinic in Mombasa.
Muhuri rapid response officer Francis Auma said Mwafujo’s lawyer Chacha Mwita had said he had been frustrated as he sought the release of his client.
“There is a court order releasing him. Why abduct him? This is one of the many cases we have documented and we strongly believe those who have taken him are police officers from the ATPU,” Auma said.
The judgment by senior principal magistrate Omido was done virtually on Thursday before the order releasing Mwafujo was issued on Friday.
“It is hereby ordered that the accused person is acquitted of all the offences he is charged in line with section 215 of the Criminal Procedure Code,” read the release order in part.
“The accused person shall be set at liberty forthwith unless he is otherwise lawfully detained,” the order read.
Mwafujo was first picked at his place of work at Tawheed Secondary School on October 24, 2016.
His lawyer Mwita said the reason for the arrest and his whereabouts remains unknown.
Auma on Monday said this is the second case of enforced disappearance they have recorded this year.
On February 4, Nassoro Mohamed Ali, 43, was similarly picked from his Mtwapa home.
The Star learnt that Nassoro, a carpenter, had previously been arrested on suspicion of being an al Shabaab member.
Auma said the disobedience of court orders by police officers is impunity.
“Cases of enforced disappearances in Mombasa are rampant and if not checked, it will cause chaos,” Auma said.
He fears if not checked, there will be a precedence as have already been set.
“As Muhuri, together with Mwafujo’s lawyer, we will move to court for habeas corpus,” the rights defender said.
The Central Police Station refused to record the incident saying it is not in their jurisdiction.
However, Auma said this should not be the case.
“I have reported cases from Tana River and Lamu at the Mombasa Central police station and they gave me OB numbers,” he said.
“What has changed today? The law says you can report any case anywhere in Kenya. They can transfer the case to the jurisdiction.”
Police said they cannot comment on a case that has not been officially reported.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris
Image: BRIAN OTIENO
Image: BRIAN OTIENO
Image: BRIAN OTIENO