Assembly Members Suspend Operations in Protest Over Colleague’s Abduction
In a show of solidarity, Wajir County Assembly Members (MCAs) have halted all assembly activities following the abduction of one of their own, Dela MCA Yussuf Ahmed ‘Tolfiyow’, in Nairobi last week. Assembly Speaker Abdilleh Yussuf confirmed that the county’s legislative business will remain suspended until Yussuf is safely found.
Yussuf was reportedly abducted by unknown individuals who intercepted the taxi he was in along Enterprise Road, Nairobi, at around 8 p.m. last Friday. The assailants, who arrived in two unmarked vehicles, forcibly removed Yussuf from the taxi and sped away with him. His whereabouts remain unknown, raising fears for his safety.
“All MCAs from Wajir and Garissa have come to Nairobi to assist in the search for Hon. Hussein. We are deeply concerned about his safety, and the assembly will not resume business until we find him,” Speaker Yussuf declared at a press briefing outside the Milimani Law Courts.
Family members, alongside the MCAs, have taken legal action by filing a case at the Nairobi High Court. They are seeking court orders to compel acting Inspector General of Police Gilbert Masengeli and Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) boss Mohamed Amin to produce the abducted ward representative in court. The family’s lawyer, Danstan Omari, submitted that there is a reasonable belief Hussein was abducted by officers affiliated with the National Police Service.
Abdikadir Ahmed, the cousin of the missing MCA, expressed the family’s distress, noting that both the acting IG and DCI have denied them the opportunity to visit Hussein in custody and failed to present him before a court.
“We believe the court’s intervention is necessary to alleviate the anxiety and stress caused by Hussein’s forced disappearance. There is no information regarding his location, and the family is living in fear,” Abdikadir stated.
Reports indicate that Yussuf was en route to South C when the abduction occurred. During the attack, the perpetrators seized the taxi driver’s phone to prevent communication, although the phone was later recovered by the driver. Despite reporting the incident twice to police, no substantial action has been taken to locate Yussuf.
Speaker Yussuf, flanked by over 30 MCAs from Wajir, Garissa, and Mandera counties, called for an end to the rising trend of enforced disappearances, particularly in Northeastern Kenya. “This is not an isolated case. Only three weeks ago, two other individuals went missing, and they have yet to be found. We demand the immediate release of Hon. Hussein,” Speaker Yussuf urged.
Deputy Speaker Abdisalan Mohamed echoed the sentiments, stressing that Yussuf’s position as an elected representative of Wajir amplifies the gravity of the situation. “We ask the police to do their duty and produce Hon. Hussein without delay,” Mohamed said.
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Assembly Members Suspend Operations in Protest Over Colleague’s Abduction
