Abducted Huduma Centre Manager Found Alive in Somalia After Four Months

Hussien Abdirahman Mohamed, a Wajir Huduma Centre Manager who vanished without a trace in July, has been rescued in Somalia and has been held as a captive over the past four months.

Hussein was said to have been saved in the town of Dhobley, located close to the Kenya-Somalia border, thus ending a torturous experience that had put his family, colleagues, and the country on alert.

The disappearance of Hussein was initially reported in mid-July when he did not show up after work at home. In his first reports, he had been last seen early in the morning on the 16th of this month, in Wajir town, after taking off his children to school.

He was also supposed to go to the Huduma Centre thereafter, but he never reached his office. Whenever he could not get back home in the evening, his family members had frenzied search efforts and subsequently reported him missing to the police.

The family was becoming more anxious as days were passed without the slightest positive development. Frustrated by the lack of action on investigations, they applied to the High Court in an application of habeas corpus and insisted that the State provide an explanation on where Hussein was found (whether dead or alive).

The family presented a case through their lawyer, Danstan Omari, that Hussein was a loyal civil servant who did not have any known personal conflicts or foes who could have wished to see him hurt.

It is a man who dedicated his life to serving the people. He was not an enemy to anyone; he had no disputes. One minute he was sitting around with government officials and the next he disappeared as the petition put it.

Justice Chacha Mwita responded to the application by ordering the Inspector General of Police and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations to trace and bring Hussein before September 16, 2025.

The judge also instructed investigators to give frequent updates to the family who had been complaining of poor communication and delays in gaining access to important evidence, including CCTV footage and mobile phone tracking data.

Weeks went on and nothing much came about and the issue came into national focus and was finally brought up in Parliament.

The senators, as well as the MPs, wanted to be given an explanation by the security sector, because they wanted to know whether the situation fell within the description of an enforced disappearance, especially considering the sensitivity of the security situation in the northern part of Kenya and the role played by Hussein as a high-ranking government officer. The situation worsened when the brother of Hussein signed an affidavit saying that he had been intimidated and threatened by the unidentified people whom he suspected to be security agents. The affidavit claims he was told not to take the case any further to court, and this, according to the affidavit, is indeed an indication of intimidation, and it is an allegation that raises eyebrows to question investigative agencies. Local leaders were not left behind in the search for answers. Adan Keynan, the MP of Eldas, wanted a proper investigation into the disappearance to be carried out and wondered whether the bodies that had been involved in the issue were the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) and the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA).

In a letter to Inspector General Douglas Kanja, Keynan stressed that the case was no longer about the misery of one family but now it was a challenge to the State on safeguarding the civil servants and the rule of law. Although a formal missing person report was filed and the police and law enforcement agencies were still working hard, family, friends, and locals, there have been no good leads, arrests or any material updates, according to Keynan.

He emphasized that the disappearance underscored the role of the State to make unbiased inquiries and communicate to the citizens effectively. This discovery by Hussein in Dhobley has now come to the rescue of his family and community giving them hope once again.

Information about his captivity, the conditions he lived under and the circumstances under which he got released or recovered is still forthcoming.

The security agencies will be expected to come up with a detailed report and may go on to trace those who were involved in the abduction.

At least, the safe release of the manager of the Huduma Centre is the end of months of uncertainty, though it does not answer vital questions of security, accountability and the safety of high-risk area public servants.