Prominent Somali Scholar Goes Missing in Nairobi, Family Demands Answers

The family of Abdiwahab sheikh Abdiswamad; a prominent Somali Scholar who allegedly went missing in Nairobi on Wednesday is demanding answers over his disappearance, following reports that he was abducted in the CBD.

Reports indicate that Abdiswamad was allegedly abducted by four unknown men around City market area while going about his business.

“We went to Central police station yesterday, we went to the scene where he was taken, we don’t have any information regarding where he has been taken,” the family told the media on Thursday at their home in South C, Nairobi.

Abdiswamad’s wife Halima Mohammed noted that her husband does not have any criminal links, adding that she does not understand what led to his alleged abduction.

“If he has done any wrong, which he has never done, he has never been into police custody before…They can arraign him in court. Otherwise, if other people have taken him, the government has duty to bring him to the family,” she said.

Human Rights Group Haki Africa has vowed to move to court seeking orders compelling the government to provide the missing scholar.

“If it is not the police, then it is still the duty of the police to search for Mr Abdiswamad and to make sure that he is reunited with his family,” Haki Africa Executive Director Hussein Khalid told the media.

Reacting to the alleged abduction, Law Society of Kenya President Nelson Havi expressed his disappointment on the rising trend of people being reported missing, yet the government has invested in sophisticated surveillance technology.

“Kidnapping of Abdiwahab Shiekh Abdiswamad adds to growing number of disappearances in Kenya. It is intolerable that these crimes cannot be prevented or the perpetrators apprehended with the high tech surveillance equipment at the disposal of the police. IG, where are you?” he tweeted.

Abdiswamad is a prominent scholar and analyst with vast knowledge on the happenings in Somalia and around the Horn of Africa.

He is the Executive Director of the Institute for Horn of Africa Strategic Studies.Missing Somali Scholar