Police investigate al-Shabaab recruitment in Kenya

By Bosire Boniface in Wajir

March 01, 2012

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Police are investigating at least six religious leaders in Garissa in connection with encouraging Kenyan youths to join al-Shabaab, North Eastern Provincial Police Chief Leo Nyongesa told Sabahi.

  • Nine suspected al-Shabaab recruits were arrested by Kenyan police on November 22nd, 2010, on their way to Somalia. [Michael Richards/AFP]

    Nine suspected al-Shabaab recruits were arrested by Kenyan police on November 22nd, 2010, on their way to Somalia. [Michael Richards/AFP]

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The investigations started in January and are on-going, Nyongesa said.

"We summoned six imams and preachers and we are in the process of questioning others," he said. "We want to establish if they are aiding in recruitment after some information from the public suggested so."

Authorities say al-Shabaab has been recruiting youths from the region to fight in Somalia for several years.

In 2006, Former North Eastern Provincial Commissioner Kiritu Wamae said the government had the names of more than 400 youths enlisted in foreign militia groups. "We have names of Kenyan youths who have been recruited to fight in Somalia. Families have been mourning secretly," he said at a Kenyatta Day celebration in Garissa. He added that the government had reports that some local leaders were involved in the recruitment.

Musa Hussein Abdi, a Wajir native, was charged in 2007 for possession of illegal explosive materials and released two years later for lack of evidence. In June 2011, he was killed in a fire-fight with Somali forces alongside Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, al-Qaeda's point man in East Africa who was indicted for planning the 1998 US Embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania. Similarly, Said Ali Ibrahim, another Wajir native, was killed by Somali forces in Dobley, Somalia, a month earlier.

Sheikh Juma Ngao, chairman of the Kenya Muslims National Advisory Council, said he blew the whistle on al-Shabaab recruitment in Kenyan mosques beginning in 2005.

"The recruitment was done in some mosques all over the country, but currently, because of the campaigns initiated by the government against the terror group, it has stopped," he told Kenya's The Standard newspaper in September.

"But it could be going on in private houses," he cautioned. "Some imams were brainwashing the youth and parents that the recruitment was meant for holy war while they are just killing innocent people."

"There is no jihad in Somalia," he said, likening the recruitment of youth to human trafficking for ethnic clashes, tribalism, politics or personal benefit.

Sheikh Hassan Amey, chairman of the Garissa branch of the Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya, acknowledged that there are foreign fighters in Kenya, but dismissed the claims that religious leaders were involved in recruiting for al-Shabaab.

"Religious leaders and residents are being harassed in the name of fighting al-Shabaab," he told Sabahi.

Recruited by al-Shabaab with the promise of a job

But Abdullahi Ibrahim, 22, a Garissa resident, told Sabahi that al-Shabaab attempted to recruit him in December, through a religious leader based in Nairobi.

Ibrahim said his cousin established the connection with the religious leader, with the promise of a job offer. "[My cousin] told me he had a job for me and I should not let him down," Ibrahim said. "The religious leader told me that I was to be a project manager with a non-governmental organisation."

Ibrahim's account reveals an intricate network of al-Shabaab operatives in several cities.

"I was asked to go to Mandera near the Kenya-Somalia border, where I was to be picked up by the people I would be working with in Somalia," he said, adding that two weeks lapsed before anyone showed up. Ibrahim said he was offered 30,000 Kenyan shillings ($363) for the job, but was told he would have to accompany two children to Nairobi before assuming the new position in Somalia.

Ibrahim said he was asked to escort the children across several Mandera checkpoints because they were in the country illegally, but since he is a Kenyan citizen, security forces would be less likely to question him. "I later learnt that the mother of the children, who is the wife of the sheikh, had used another route on her way to Nairobi," he said.

"When I delivered [the children] to the sheikh in Nairobi, he asked me to be a mujahid for al-Shabaab," he said.

When Ibrahim asked the religious leader about the promised job, he did not get a clear response. "That is when I learnt that the non-governmental job was a ploy," he said, adding that he was never paid any money.

"I know of several youths who joined the militants through that route. Some dropped out after realising that they were deceived, while others soldiered on after they were told they would be paid to be fighters," Ibrahim said.

"I informed my father of the turn of events and he called my uncle and the sheikh asking them why they risked my life in Somalia and they panicked," he told Sabahi. Ibrahim said he circulated a copy of the religious leader's photograph in parts of Garissa, warning people that the sheikh was behind the recruitment of youths for al-Shabaab.

Ibrahim reported the incident to the Anti-Terror Police Unit in Garissa in January, a month after the recruitment attempt, to clear any doubts about his connections with al-Shabaab. Since then, he said al-Shabaab has threatened him for reporting the religious leader and his cousin to the police.

Security and citizen co-operation go hand-in-hand

Nyongesa declined to confirm whether the clerics being questioned in Garissa were connected to Ibrahim's case, but said authorities were actively investigating the circumstances of his attempted recruitment.

Security has been heightened in the region after a series of grenade and landmine attacks targeting civilians and security officers, North Eastern Provincial Commissioner James ole Seriani told Sabahi.

He expressed concern that al-Shabaab might have sympathisers in the region and said regional security and public co-operation go hand-in-hand.

"Residents know that their involvement in identifying the criminals and their associates is crucial to their safety. Al-Shabaab attacks are indiscriminate and we are glad some of the arrests have been made possible because residents co-operate with the security organs," Seriani said.

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Reader's Comments

  • JESUS PAUL
    April 28, 2013 @ 05:01:38AM

    The holy war must take place in Kenya by any means necessary. Whether you want it or not, on the infidel soil of Kenya, the holy war will sustain... Do you think killing our sheikhs is killing the religion?.... This is ALLAH's religion and not MARTYR ABOUD ROGO'S NOR MARTYR SAMEER KHAN'S....ETC... Our sheikhs' blood that you shed must cost you dearly... May ALLAH reward paradise to our jihadists, GOD WILLING!

  • mujuaje
    May 1, 2012 @ 07:13:36AM

    I would like to tell the Kenyans that I am in Kenya and I want to cause destruction that they will never forget in their lives to this Christian dominated country, God willing. Whether they closed their borders to Somalia or not, I can tell them that there is battalion of holy war fighters including me in their country that was basically sent to carry out a holy war and make them feel an everlasting pain.

  • Mr Madoobe
    April 13, 2012 @ 01:43:49PM

    About recruitment outside Somalia ... some of us are tongue tide.... because you cant trust anyone !!!!! ..... Issues more often then once take a twist and turn ...... and one might end up in a very tight conner if not get killed...... Kenyan authorities are trying their best......We are also obliged to amplify through international media,we name and shame these perpetrators... it will be up-to anyone in authority to apprehend or prosecute .......But people should not keep shut about it Dear country men don't get compromised...... Please try to keep peace

  • ISACK KABAJU
    April 5, 2012 @ 08:40:59AM

    to me, these people don’t have anything to do because they cannot contend with these issues

  • CHRISTOPHER
    April 3, 2012 @ 08:06:47AM

    THAT SHEIKH WHO IS SAYING THAT THERE IS NO JIHAD IN SOMALIA IS A HYPOCRITE, JIHAD IS WELL UNDERWAY AND ALL WHO GO AGAINST ISLAMIC FORCES MUST BE FOUGHT

  • Lucas Graduce
    April 3, 2012 @ 02:31:10AM

    I agree with one of the contributors above regarding the behavior of various servants of God who alter Holy Scripture for personal benefit; this is without doubt shameful and a curse on them! However, if you investigate further, you will realize that our Muslim brothers have been working on their violent strategies of establishing terrorist groups such as al-Shabaab, Boko Haram, the dangerous Haqqan Network in Pakistan, al-Qaeda and many others that are not known within and outside the borders of East Africa that collectively their aim, among other things, is to carry out the violent war of Jihad against followers of other religions especially Christians!! They have become the root cause of the absence of peace on the face of the Earth; just try and think about the recent incident that involved the terrorist Mera, of Algerian descent who killed seven people including several Jews and children; incidents that infringe on the right to freedom of worship that Christians face in Iran, Pakistan, England, Vietnam, Iraq, Egypt, Indonesia, Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia where, as you have heard, a senior Doctor of Islamic law gave a demon-inspired order regarding the demolition of churches in the entire Ghuba region, Eritrea who have isolated themselves to hone in on al-Shabaab terrorists, Burma, Laos. In Uganda where Elder Mulinda had acid poured on him and up until now he is struggling to have his blindness treated in Israel, one fourteen year-old girl who had her legs broken by her own father after he heard that she had received teachings meaning she had been saved when she was away studying early in August last year! Muslims why?

  • Swajesh
    March 31, 2012 @ 12:13:01AM

    The Imam of the Musa Mosque in Mombasa is well-known for his work to encourage young people to join Al-Shabaab, by using Quranic verses to his own advantage. He has teenage children of his own, why doesn’t he enlist them? And why isn’t the government taking any measures against him? Anyone who wants to confirm that there is no Jihad in Somalia should go to Eastleigh and stay with them for just one week and there they will confirm that what Somalis want is religious instruction on how to stop the war and create a peaceful government. But each clan is fighting to gain leadership for material gain, their thoughts are only about collecting money, and most of them are careless in their habits and behavior. LIVE WITH THEM AND KNOW THEM.

  • raila odinga
    March 30, 2012 @ 08:18:24AM

    Oh man Swahili is very hard for those of us who were raised in Nairobi, where can we get this news in English?

  • Stan Martin
    March 30, 2012 @ 05:49:19AM

    Al Shabaab are murderers, they should be wiped off the face of the earth.

  • cyrus ogero
    March 30, 2012 @ 04:26:46AM

    When god is with you there is victory

  • GITHONGO
    March 7, 2012 @ 06:55:06AM

    halleluiah, jesus be praised

  • murungu wa murungu
    March 7, 2012 @ 05:31:28AM

    The problem is that our religious leaders are starving when they are given even something small they look for verses in god’s books in order to make official or legal the tyranny that they support. Oh almighty God grant them the wisdom to know that you do not need extremism or fighters who shed blood for the sake of your kingdom. But should they proceed with gentleness and humility they will follow God and ultimately get to paradise.

  • alfred
    March 5, 2012 @ 06:54:45AM

    My opinion is that Kenyan police should pay attention to this dirty trick or way of recruiting young boys by al-shabaab.If possible,they should use networks and resources to investigate this matter and find a solution

  • SHEBA
    March 4, 2012 @ 11:30:39AM

    I am not a very clever tactician but I am also not so naive. If they are desperate for fighters, why not overflood them with promises that would expose them?

  • JOHN MUTHEE
    March 4, 2012 @ 06:46:55AM

    THE KENYA DEFENCE FORCE SHOULD KEEP UP THE GOOD JOB AND ALSO FOCUS ON HITTING KISMAYO

  • mary pembere
    March 3, 2012 @ 06:31:55AM

    This Al-Shabaab group is really causing a lot of problems. Even so, it is encouraging that citizens are collaborating with security officers in their bid to confront this group. The main issue is the involvement of religious leaders. Where is their sincerity in cultivating compassion and holiness among followers?

  • liza ouda
    March 3, 2012 @ 01:55:56AM

    this is from the horse's mouth,thee goverment should take this boy serious.and some protection should be provided,not only to this boy but to any whistle blower.

  • PETER NYAWA
    March 2, 2012 @ 12:59:35PM

    THE KENYA DEFEACE FORCES SHOULD HIT KISMAYO.

  • Suleiman Rajab kijiu
    March 2, 2012 @ 10:06:09AM

    My opinion is that Kenyan police should pay attention to this dirty trick or way of recruiting young boys by al-shabaab.If possible,they should use networks and resources to investigate this matter and find a solution.

  • سعيد بن سعيد
    March 1, 2012 @ 05:29:19PM

    Are there no rational men among you… you, young people of Somalia… Why do they kill the innocent refugees? May God give them their rationality back… Your Somali brother Hargeeza.

  • سعيد بن سعيد
    March 1, 2012 @ 05:24:01PM

    The Messenger, peace be upon him, used to ban young boys from going for jihad in wars. You, agents and followers of Satan, i.e. deviated youth, steal our boys to join the wars, and you send your boys to schools??! Are there no rational men among you?

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