Saturday June 19, 2021
NAIROBI (HOL) - Somali politicians in Kenya have raised the red flag over an increasing spate of kidnappings of Somali women, especially in Nairobi’s Eastleigh areas.
Garrisa Town MP Aden Duale and his Kamukunji counterpart Yusuf Hassan have separately condemned the kidnappings of at least five women and called for speedy investigations into the matter.
“Deeply concerned at the spate of kidnappings, rising violence, and gender-based killings sweeping through Kamukunji, which have sparked growing fear and panic in the community. I’ve written to the Inspector-General to take urgent and visible measures to protect civilians,” Hassan said in a tweet.
The MP, whose constituency the kidnappings have occurred also called on police to ‘act quickly, deploy more patrols, and ensure the safety and security of the targeted community and neighbourhood.’
On his part, Duale also condemned the kidnappings some of which resulted in death and called on the government to probe the matter. He was speaking to the local media.
The remarks by the two leaders come amid a rising case of kidnappings some of which end up in death, ransom and silence from perpetrators. At least five Somali women have been kidnapped within one week.
A video emerged online this past week showing a 23-year-old woman, identified as Hafsa Mohammed Lukman covered on the face but with bruises. In the video, her kidnappers tell her to inform her sister to send money for her release.CCTV footage from Eastleigh showed the woman in her shop on June 16. She has not been found yet and no public ransom demands have been made again.
Two other women, Hafsa Abdulwahaab, Umulkheyr Omaan and a man identified as Mohamud Mohamed Haji (Burte) have been kidnapped in the past week.
Of the four cases, one, involving Hasfa Mohamed Lukman involved a ransom demand.
Meanwhile, a 19-year-old woman identified as Najma Abdullahi Maalim was found dead along Dongo Kundu Bypass Highway, Mombasa last week after she went missing on June 9.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has not made a public statement on the kidnappings.
The agency however reported the recovery of a three-year-old girl in Nairobi’s Embakasi constituency on June 16 after she went missing on June 8.
Nairobi has witnessed several cases of kidnappings, disappearances and cold blood killings in recent months.