Al Shabaab shot abducted Mandera chief 8 times as elders watched, Maalim buried in Arabia

A Mandera Chief who was abducted and murdered by al Shabaab was buried at Arabia location on Friday.
Mourners were told Muktar Maalim was kidnapped in Arabia on Thursday morning and shot dead at about 5.00pm in front of Mandera elders who had gone to negotiate his release.
Mandera County Commissioner Alex Ole Nkoyo said Maalim was killed in Gandadowe as a Kenyan delegation that attempted to negotiate his release watched helplessly.
“The Shabaab said here is your chief as they sprayed bullets on him then told the delegation that they can take him as he lay in a pool of blood,” said Ole Nkoyo.
An assistant chief who escaped alive, recounted the ordeal while saying he will not live in fear of terrorists as Kenya is his home.
“We were in a convoy of vehicles as we followed the Nissan matatu in which the chief was travelling in from behind, our canter was also stopped by the 30 gun wielding militants. They told the chief his days were over as they pulled him from away from the other passengers. They said they were not interested with the others, I jumped from the canter and took off as a hail of bullets rained from behind but God is great none hit me,” said the assistant chief who declined to give his name for security reasons.
“I rolled severally on the ground before taking off on foot, it was really my lucky day as they followed me but abandoned the chase minutes later,” he said.
A post mortem report revealed Maalim was shot eight times.
Ole Nkoyo asked locals to give information to authorities and assured that nobody will be victimized for reporting criminals.
He said that the government has beefed up security by increasing areas of patrol, KDF and police presence in the area.
Mandera East MP Abdilaziz Farah decried the growing insecurity in the region despite increase of security personnel and also urged residents to report criminals living among them.
“I know you know the bad elements living amongst you but you are only watching as our economy is in shambles, our schools do not have teachers, our medical personnel have fled. It is time to rethink our strategies of fighting terror,” he warned.
He said that terror has no tribe, religion or race as the chief who was killed adding that those who die in Somalia are Muslims.
Inspector General of police Joseph Boinet imposed a curfew in Mandera, Wajir, Garissa and Tana River counties after 147 people were killed by Shabaab militants in Garissa University College.
Last year, 28 people were killed at Arabia after the bus they were travelling was hijacked by a terror group.
– Source: the star.co.ke