The Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) has addressed reports regarding the captivity of some of its soldiers by Al-Shabaab militants in Somalia.
This follows a plea from the family of a KDF soldier, who is allegedly being held by the terror group, urging the government to secure his release.
The call gained attention after a video surfaced on social media, featuring the soldier appealing for government intervention.
In the video, Sergeant Abdullahi Issa Ibrahim claims he was captured, along with an unknown number of Kenyan soldiers, during the deadly Al-Shabaab attack on a KDF camp in El-Adde, Somalia, on January 15, 2016.
Before the attack, KDF had been involved in a successful mission in Somalia since 2011, under Operation Linda Nchi.
The video has since reignited hope for Sergeant Ibrahim’s family, who had given up hope and even conducted a burial for him four years ago.
Katra Abdullahi Issa, his daughter, has been watching the video repeatedly since receiving it on Wednesday night.
The daughter while speaking to the press said that she is relieved to learn her father is alive, but she is also anxious about the prospect of his safe return.
“As a family, we have been depressed confused, and do not know where we can go. For the last 8 years, we have lost hope, we’ve been living like orphans. I sincerely beg Kenyans and the President precisely to help us bring my father home,” said Katra.
Family of soldier reportedly held by Al-Shabab speaks
Katra further revealed that about a month ago, she received a strange phone call from Somalia, during which the person on the other end identified himself as her father.
Shocked, she began to question him, asking personal family details, all of which he answered correctly. Still uncertain, Sergeant Abdullahi’s daughter asked for video evidence to confirm his identity.
“I asked him, can you ask the guys if they can send us a photo of him or a video so we can start on a journey on how to help him?
He said, they will reach you and surprisingly after the month we talked to him, and we got the video.”
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In the video suspected to have been filmed and shared by the Al-Shabab propaganda wing, the now 61-year-old Abdullahi Issa Ibrahim narrates that he was a sergeant attached to the 9th Kenya Rifle Battalion known as 9KR based at the Moi barracks in Eldoret.
After the video surfaced, news went around that the sergeant was still alive with friends, neighbors, and relatives streaming at the family home in Eldoret.
The family says after years of holding on to hope they gave up and in December 2020, they obtained this presumption of death certificate from the Kenya Defense Forces.
Apart from Sergeant Abdullah’s video, another video of Kenyan soldier Garison Wanyonyi Wasike who hails from Trans Nzoia County was also shared.
KDF responds to videos
The Kenya Defense Forces has since responded to the surfacing of the videos in a statement by the Strategic Communication office on Thursday, January 16.
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The office said that efforts to confirm the status and whereabouts of the soldiers that were unaccounted for during the attack have been ongoing.
“It has come to our attention, that there are videos circulating on social media depicting interviews with KDF soldiers allegedly giving accounts of what may have happened at El Adde in 2016,” the statement read in part.
“Whilst the authenticity of the video clips has yet to be verified, efforts to confirm the status and whereabouts of the soldiers that were unaccounted for have been ongoing. In the intervening period, consistent communication has been maintained with the affected families of our gallant soldiers to provide regular updates and support as and when required.”
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