Westgate terror suspect Liban Omar was abducted just hours after being freed by the court last week.
His family has now vested their hopes in God following near-fruitless efforts to track him with the help of the police.
It’s a week since Omar was abducted last Thursday and his family fears it will take longer to find their kin going by uncertainties and found silence from the government surrounding his disappearance.
For seven years, Omar and two others, Mohammed Abdi and Hussein Mustafa had been at Kamiti maximum prison over links to the 2013 Westgate terror attack as they waited for their judgment.
During their sentencing last Wednesday, chief magistrate Francis Andayi ruled that the prosecution had proved to the court that Abdi and Mustafa conspired with the terrorist.
While Omar, a brother to one of the Westgate attackers, was free due to lack of evidence.
Omar, a brother of one of the Westgate attackers, was freed for lack of evidence.
“He communicated with his own brother 37 times. That is not sufficient for me to find that it was a link to show he was conspiring with the terrorists,” Andayi ruled.
“I give the benefit of the doubt to the second accused person and find that the communication he had on his phone was innocent.”
Following the ruling, Omar was cleared at Kamiti maximum prison and later proceeded for another clearance at ATPU officers, as required. All clearances went without a hitch.
But after leaving the ATPU offices with two family friends, a sister, and an aunt, the taxi they boarded was hijacked by the occupant of a black Subaru. The driver pointed a gun at Omar’s car while ordering the driver to stop, one occupant who asked for anonymity told the Star.
The taxi driver obliged to the demands and the gunmen then pulled Omar into their car and spend off with the taxi’s key.
Those left were left stranded in the middle of the road near Kenyatta National Hospital. The matter was booked at Capital Hill police station as OB 28 at 1.08 pm.
Who Is Behind the Abduction?
“It was less than 10 minutes after leaving the ATPU, who else could it be?” the occupant posed while speaking to The Star. “It was fast, who else knew Omar was in this car?”
According to Omar’s lawyer Mr. Mbugua Mureithi, the abduction could be a collaboration between the ATPU and the National Intelligence Service officers.
“This guy didn’t even enjoy freedom for five minutes. It wasn’t a complete surprise, only we are shocked,” Mureithi said in an interview with the Star.
Sahra Susana, Omar’s sister who was with him in the taxi during the incident, also accused the police officers of being behind the abduction.
“They (police) are not helping us, so we are just waiting,” Susana said on Sunday, adding that, “Ni Mungu tu (It’s only God who can intervene).”
Lawyer Mureithi confirmed that the police were not cooperating on the matter and ben ignoring their calls for inquiries on the progress in the issue.
“They don’t believe in the rule of law. I’m just hoping they will dump him somewhere we can trace him,” Mureithi told the publication.
Mureithi has however cast doubts on whether Omar would be released by the authorities, fearing he will be detained instead.
“The abduction doesn’t offer any justice to the victims of Westgate. Unfortunately, the story is now changing from Westgate attack to the abduction of my client,” Mureithi said, calling the move counterproductive in fighting terrorism.
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The sentencing of other convicts, Abdi and Mustafa who were found guilty may delay as Mureithi promised to take the case to court.
Just like in the past, the silence of the police over the matter appeared to prove the claims that the service may have, indeed, been involved in the disappearance of Omar.
When the publication consulted the Nairobi Central police boss Mark Wanjala over the matter, he said he was not aware of the abduction, while calls to Nairobi police boss Rashid Yakub was not answered.
Omar, his lawyer, and family only hope is that he either gets released following public outcry, deported, or goes missing for good, going by the situation.
Related: Acquitted Westgate terror suspect abducted outside Government office
