Wajir MCA Freed After 6 Months, Questions Linger Over Alleged Crime Links and Abduction

After 177 days in captivity, Wajir County Assembly Minority Leader Yussuf Hussein Ahmed, the MCA for Dela Ward, walked back into his Eastleigh home on Saturday night, March 8, ending six months of uncertainty for his family and community.

Alongside him, three other Kenyans, abducted on the same day in Isiolo, were also released, raising fresh questions about their ordeal and Kenya’s escalating abduction crisis.

While celebrations erupted in Wajir and beyond, the synchronized releases—shrouded in silence from the freed men—have deepened suspicions of state involvement, alleged crime ties, and a possible political motive.

Ahmed’s nightmare began on September 13, 2024, when he was forcibly taken from a taxi on Nairobi’s Enterprise Road by armed men, suspected to be security officers, wielding AK-47 rifles.

The abductors, driving unmarked Land Cruiser Prados, whisked him away as taxi driver Kioko Wambua watched helplessly.

That same day, over 270 kilometers away in Isiolo, three other men vanished under similarly mysterious circumstances, hinting at a coordinated operation.

For six months, their whereabouts remained unknown, their families left in anguish, and security agencies silent despite a January court order demanding answers.

On Saturday night, Ahmed was dropped off at Pangani shopping centre in Nairobi by unidentified men who handed him Ksh 5,000 and warned him not to look back.

Blindfolded until the final moments, he walked into his Eastleigh home around 11 pm, clutching a Quran, to the shock and relief of his wife.

The three Isiolo men were similarly released at their homes, appearing frail with shaved heads, but—like Ahmed—offering no details of their captivity. “He seemed jovial but frail,” said Elyas Abdille, Ahmed’s cousin and MCA for Rhamu Dimtu Ward in Mandera. “He’s not ready to talk about his ordeal.”

The releases sparked jubilation in Eastleigh and Isiolo, with Wajir Governor Ahmed Abdullahi confirming Ahmed was “safe and sound” and undergoing medical checks.

Woman Representative Fatuma Jehow hailed it as “a tidal wave of joy” for Wajirians. Yet, beneath the relief lies a tangle of unanswered questions. Who held them? Why now? And what ties, if any, link Ahmed to the transnational crime he was once suspected of abetting?

Ahmed’s abduction followed his clearance by the Wajir County Security Committee on August 8, 2024, from allegations of involvement in smuggling and trafficking along the Nairobi-Moyale corridor—a notorious route for arms and human trafficking near Somalia’s border.

He was also questioned about the August 12 abduction of two South Korean missionaries in Marsabit, linked to the Oromo Liberation Army and possibly Al-Shabaab.

Though exonerated, his disappearance four days later fueled speculation he was targeted for what he knew—or was believed to know.

The simultaneous abductions in Nairobi and Isiolo, and now the coordinated releases, suggest a sophisticated operation, with some pointing to state agencies or a criminal network with unusual reach.

Adding to the intrigue, Ahmed claimed he was held in a torture chamber adjacent to where Kitengela activists Bob Njagi and the Longton brothers were detained after their August abductions—a claim Njagi had previously corroborated. “He could hear Njagi screaming,” a family source told the media.

While the activists were freed after 32 days, Ahmed and the three others endured 177, emerging malnourished and silent. “The logistics of holding four people for six months, then releasing them together, is staggering,” said a Nairobi security analyst. “This wasn’t random—it’s a message.”

The case has also reignited debate over Kenya’s surge in abductions, often targeting critics or crime suspects.

Human Rights Watch has accused security forces of extralegal tactics, a charge the government denies.

Ahmed’s return, just four days before his seat would have been declared vacant on March 12, has sparked theories of political timing. “Had he not returned, he’d have lost his position,” Abdille noted, urging captors to free others still missing.

Last October, a mutilated body from Lake Yahud was misidentified as Ahmed’s, prompting protests in Wajir until DNA tests disproved the claim, amplifying distrust in authorities.

Now, as Ahmed recovers at Nairobi Hospital, leaders like Eldas MP Adan Keynan and Senator Ali Roba demand accountability. “If state agencies are involved, they must follow the rule of law,” Roba said, noting Ahmed’s “worrying” condition suggested torture.

For now, Ahmed and the three Isiolo men remain tight-lipped, their captors’ identity and motives a mystery as of March 10, 2025. Advocacy groups are pressing for a transparent probe, arguing silence only emboldens impunity.

As Kenya grapples with borderland crime and governance challenges, this case stands as a stark reminder: even in moments of relief, the shadows of unanswered questions linger.