The family of a man suspected to be al-Shabaab responsible for procuring weaponry and explosives from foreign sources to al-Shabaab has accused Kenyan government of handing over their kin to Somali government.
Somalia’s national intelligence agency (NISA) earlier announced the arrest of Mombasa-based Somali businessman, Sakaria Kamal, better known as Saki, saying the man was ‘captured’ in the Horn of African nation.
“A 28-year-old Somali has been under surveillance by NISA for some time, and finally, NISA successfully apprehended him just as he was preparing to disappear and seek out the elusive hideouts of the Khawarij factions within Somalia,” NISA said in a statement. “He was the mastermind behind a network involved in the illicit procurement of a military container from abroad. NISA successfully intercepted these shipments at the port and airport of Mogadishu in May this year.”
The suspect had been charged in Shanzu court in Mombasa with illegally shipping military equipment and explosives to the al-Shabaab group in Somalia and released on a Sh1 million bond.
He was charged with buying the military equipment on behalf of the al Shabaab and shipping them in three containers to Mogadishu.
One of the containers was recovered while the whereabouts of the other two are unknown.
The suspect was released from custody in June 2023 after spending over one month in police custody as investigators probed his role in the shipment of military equipment to Somalia.
The family through their lawyer expressed concern that Nairobi had deported a national to Mogadishu, saying their son had pending at a court. However, Kenyan officials said they had no comment to make.
