The Lower Eastern Times Opening The Third Eye
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The family of Shaffi Noor is in deep distress over the disappearance of their son, who was taken by suspected Anti-Terror Police Unit officers in Garissa on December 29, 2021.
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The family is calling on the government to help locate their son, who had just been cleared of terrorism-related charges by a Garissa court when he was abducted by the very officers who had brought him there.
“The magistrate declared him innocent and released him. However, the officers who had escorted him to court seized him right outside and disappeared with him,” said Ahmed Noor, Shaffi’s uncle.
At the time of his abduction, Shaffi, aged 21, had been accused of having links to the al Shabaab terror group. He had completed high school in 2020 and was given a car by his parents to start a taxi business.
While working in Wajir, he met and fell in love with a Somali woman. She asked him to buy a phone and a Safaricom SIM card, which he did, registering the line in his own name using his national ID. It was later revealed that the woman was connected to al Shabaab and had used the phone and line for her own purposes.
The woman later suggested that if Shaffi wanted to marry her, he should speak to her father, who would then discuss the matter with his own father. After that, she left to live near the Somali border.
One day, Shaffi called her, only to have a man’s voice answer, identifying himself as the woman’s husband and warning Shaffi off. It was this phone connection that led to Shaffi’s troubles with the Anti-Terror Police Unit.
Now, four years later, in Mombasa’s Majengo area, the family is still clinging to the faint hope that Shaffi is alive. They have searched every place where bodies have been discovered, including River Yala and Shakahola, hoping to find his remains for a proper burial.
“The mother has been sick ever since. She hasn’t been able to eat or sleep properly since Shaffi was taken,” Ahmed said.
A relative, Mama Jamila, mentioned that during the election year, politicians in Wajir used Shaffi’s case as part of their campaigns, promising to help bring him back.
“After they won their seats, no one has even brought up the case,” she added.
The family continues to hold onto hope, as no body has been found.
“We have seen abducted people being released. The Wajir MCA, who was abducted, was freed after more than four months in captivity,” Jamila said.
“We ask President Ruto to intervene and ensure the safe release of our son, as we believe he is still in the custody of security forces.”
