Abdulkadir Khalif
9 November 2009
Mogadishu — Two Kenyans identified as workers of a printing agency in Mogadishu known as Hamar Adde were abducted on late on Sunday. The incident took place at Bakara market, the largest trading centre in Mogadishu.
The two were shopping at Mubarak Complex in the Bakara market when they were snatched away at gunpoint. According to eyewitnesses, the Kenyans were in the company of two Somali co-workers who were later released.
The management of the Hamar Adde printing agency has not issued a statement regarding the issue. However, traders in the area named one of the kidnap victims as Jabril who had been in Mogadishu for four years. The other Kenyan is said to relatively new to Somalia.
"The two Kenyans have been in one of the most violent areas of Mogadishu because they were both Muslims," said Hassan Mohamud, a media expert in Mogadishu. "It is surprise to many people that fellow Muslims who resisted the high level of violence are to lose their liberties," he added.
No group has so far claimed the kidnap act and the management of Hamar Adde printing agency who employed the two Kenyans expressed reluctance to talk about the awful action that affected its manpower. Some sources, including alshahid website, indicate that the men were taken for questioning by unidentified groups.
Kenyan had mainly been employed in the education sector, but many left when violence became totally uncontrollable.
Kidnapping is a big business in Somalia. Aid workers and journalists, including foreigners suffer most. On top that, burcadbadeed (sea gangs in Somali language) are actively engaged in piracy on an offshore waters of Somalia, hijacking tens of ships.
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