MP accuses the police of targeting Muslim youths

Suna East MP Junet Mohammed is accusing the government of being behind the disappearance of Kenya-Somalia youths.

Mr Mohammed said in a statement that were racial profiling and arresting the youths on suspicion that they have terror links.

“These arrests of young Muslim and Somali youths has taken place simply on grounds of their being suspected to be planning terrorism. The authorities never reveal details of their investigations and the nature of terrorist activities the arrested people were suspected to be planning,” he said.

The MP wants the government to produce 10 youths who have gone missing in recent months.

“Asha Abdullahi has been missing since July, Yahya Abdukadir Adan, Abdirahman Mohamed Dakani, Jamal Muktar Ali, Abdikadir Mohammed Wobi, Mohammed Ali Mohammed missing, Ali Hassan Mohammed, a 15-year-old, all missing since April, Omar Farah Adow, Ali Omar Hassan missing since May, and Abdikadir Sheik Mohammed Dahir a university student missing since July. The list of the missing is certainly larger than 10, and we are ready to work with the government to identify more families with missing members,” he said.

However, police spokesperson Charles Owino Saturday defended police officers from the accusation and asked Mr Mohammed to forward his allegations to the Independent Police Oversight Authority.

Mr Owino accused the MP of making what he called “reckless statements” which he said would result in the radicalisation of more youths.

“Let him present the evidence he has to the policing authority together with the names of the youths who he said have disappeared. If he does not, we will have no otherwise but to summon him to record a statement with us in seven days,” he told Sunday Nation.

The Suna MP, who is also the ODM director of elections, further claimed the police had denied those arrested access to lawyers.

His claims come days after three youngsters suspected to be on a mission to join Al-Shabaab were arrested.

The trio, aged between 10-15, appeared before Resident Magistrate Viola Yator who directed that they be remanded at Changamwe police station awaiting investigations.

The minors appeared before the same court with a man suspected to be a member of the militia’s terror cell accused of killing security officers in Mombasa.

Mr Swaleh Hamisi Mswabah was arrested on Wednesday at Bondeni in Mombasa, and has also been detained at Central Police Station.

Source: Nation