Lamu businessman Mohamed Muse Mire / Courtesy
Pressure is mounting on the government to secure the immediate and unconditional release of Lamu businessman Mohamed Muse Mire, who was reportedly abducted from his home in Witu by armed and masked men at night.
According to the family, Mire had returned from his business premises in Witu on Thursday evening when a group of about six masked and heavily armed men stormed his home.
Mire hails from the Ijara constituency in Garissa county but has lived and conducted business in Lamu for more than a decade.
The assailants were reportedly travelling in two vehicles: a Probox and a double-cab pickup.
One of Mire’s daughters said the incident happened while they were having a remedial lesson with a private teacher.
She alleged that the armed men forced their way into the house and ordered those inside to lie on the floor before taking Mire away.
He has not been seen since.
The alleged abduction has left his children and relatives distressed, with the family now appealing to the government to establish where he is being held and facilitate his release.
The family, local leaders and human rights defenders are demanding answers over his whereabouts, with questions raised over who carried out the operation and why the businessman has not been brought before a court if he is suspected of committing any offence.
Lamu Governor Issa Timamy, who visited the family at their home in Witu, condemned the incident and urged the national government to deploy its security machinery to establish Mire's whereabouts.
Timamy said no Kenyan should be subjected to enforced disappearance and called for the rule of law to be respected.
“We are condemning this incident in the strongest terms possible. We are equally demanding his immediate release,” Timamy said, assuring the family that he would pursue the matter with senior government officials.
Nominated MP Umulkheir Harun also demanded Mire’s unconditional release, while calling on security agencies to investigate the circumstances surrounding his disappearance.
“I am deeply concerned by the reported abduction of Lamu businessman Mohamed Muse Mire from his home in Witu,” Harun said.
The lawmaker who spoke to the press in Garissa town said allegations against any individual should be handled through established legal procedures and not through secret arrests or disappearances.
“If Mire is suspected of any offence, he must be accorded due process and brought before a court of law,” she said.
Garissa County Human Rights Defenders Network coordinator Muktar Dahir said the circumstances surrounding Mire’s disappearance were troubling, particularly because the men involved were allegedly masked and did not identify themselves.
Dahir questioned why security personnel conducting an arrest would conceal their identities instead of following procedures requiring officers to identify themselves and explain the reason for an arrest.
He said public confidence in security agencies could be eroded if people were taken away without their families being informed of their whereabouts.
The incident comes against the backdrop of years of complaints over alleged enforced disappearances and extrajudicial actions in Northeastern.
Families in the region have repeatedly demanded information about relatives who disappeared after being arrested or taken away by people believed to be security personnel.
Human rights organisations have also documented concerns about arbitrary arrests, secret detention and disappearances, particularly during periods of heightened security operations.
Garissa County Human Rights Defenders Network coordinator Muktar Dahir speaking to the press./STEPHEN ASTARIKO
