Police arrested another top Muslim cleric in Garissa as the war
against Somalia-based militants, Al Shabaab, intensifies and he has since not
been seen.
Sheikh Abdullahi Khalifa was abducted
by the police on Monday and has since been missing without any trace.
According to his family, three people who
identified themselves as security officers arrested the Islamic teacher in
front his students at Umul-Qura, an Islamic religion institution, and bundled
him into a Land Cruiser.
Efforts by his children, who were among
his students at the time, to shield him proved deadly and bore no fruits as
police brandished guns and threatened to shoot them.
“They first demanded for his national
identity card before grabbing his mobile phone. He was arrested by force in the
full glare of his students,” said the cleric’s son, Abdi Khalif Abdullahi, at
their home in Bula Salaam.
“While they were struggling to put him
into the car, his youngest daughter who was among the learners, together with
other students tried to shield him but the officers brandished pistols and
threatened to shoot them,” he added.
Sheikh Abdullahi Khalifa is married to
4 wives with 19 children, who now fear they could die of hunger because the
‘good’ Sheikh was the sole breadwinner.
Post a Comment