Four persons seized by suspected Al-shabaab terrorists in Mandera on Tuesday have been released, including two medical officers, a patient, and an ambulance driver.
Wednesday afternoon saw the release of the medics and the patient, while Thursday morning saw the release of the driver.
Adan Hussen Rahoy, a Lafey County Assembly (MCA) member, claimed that all of the victims were “safe and sound” in their residences.
“I can vouch for the fact that all four victims of the carjacking on Tuesday have been freed and are at home. The driver arrived this morning, while the first three returned yesterday (Wednesday) afternoon, according to Mr. Rahoy.
He said that negotiations for the four’s release from their captors were conducted through local clan elders.
He claimed that “Clan elders from Lafey contacted their Somalian counterparts who assisted in negotiating for the release of the victims.”
The militants’ release of the ambulance owned by the Mandera County Government is the subject of ongoing discussions.
According to the MCA, there was no ransom paid to free the four.
Onesmus Kyatha, the commissioner for Mandera County, reported on Wednesday that the Somalia government had been contacted and asked for assistance in rescuing the victims.
“We have put together the required equipment and are in communication with our peers over the border. We have pleaded with the government of Somalia and the local clan elders for help. Both the vehicle’s occupants and ourselves are eager to have them back, Mr. Kyatha said on Wednesday.
The four are Aden Dai, a worker at Lafey Sub-County Hospital, Hassan Shaaban, a driver, and 40-year-old patient Moulid Abdi.”I am hopeful that the ambulance will also be released because it is solely used for life-saving operations. Those in possession of it must comprehend that the same vehicle is used to transport even their sick relatives whenever they require appropriate medication, according to Mr. Rahoy.
Those who were freed were driven by a kind stranger not far from the Kenya/Somalia border before they returned on foot to Lafey.
On Tuesday night, the four were abducted as they drove a patient from Lafey to Elwak Sub-County Hospital.