Police probe activist’s death

Mystery surrounds the death of a Muslim activist whose body was found in the Tsavo National Park on Thursday.

Police on Friday denied that they had anything to do with the murder of the activist, Mr Samir Khan. They added that the body was dumped in the wilderness to conceal evidence.

Coast Provincial Police Officer Aggrey Adoli sent out an appeal to anyone with information about the activist’s murder to forward it, as it will help unravel the truth.

He declined to say if they were questioning any one.

Separately, Voi police commander Joshua Ngiki said it appears Mr Khan was killed elsewhere and the body dumped in the wilderness.

Human rights organisation, Muslim for Human Rights (Muhuri), executive director Hussein Khalid said the body was seen by truck drivers who informed the police.

The officer said they saw vehicle skid marks at the scene indicating the assailants dumped the body after killing him elsewhere.

The body was taken to Wesu District Hospital in Wundanyi, where a post-mortem was to be conducted.

But Mr Khalid, who was with the activist’s family at the hospital, said they declined to have a postmortem and opted to bury the body.

As we went to press, the family was headed to Mombasa for burial at Shika Adabu.

Mr Ngiki said the body had no bullet wounds or marks to show that he was strangled but he said they will soon find out how he died.

According to the police, Mr Khan went missing from his home at Manganyakulo Village, Kwale County on Tuesday with a blind person, who has not been seen, and never returned home.

A relative of Mr Khan, who did not want his name published, said they received information about the death on Thursday.

Mr Khalid, speaking on phone on Friday, said he was informed by a family member that Mr Khan boarded a matatu heading to Mombasa’s town centre.

“The matatu was stopped by people who looked like police and who ordered the two out of the vehicle and put them in a private station wagon.”

Elite police unit

He said some individuals, who were once under the watch of the Anti Terrorism Police Unit, fear for their lives following the death of Mr Khan. He asked the government to investigate the death without the involvement of the elite police unit.

Mr Khan had been arrested on May 22, 2010 at Manganyakulo area in South Coast by the ATPU on suspicion of carrying out terrorists activities.

Together with a relative, Rahim Khan, they were brought to court on May 24 the same year and charged with possession of an illegal firearm.

Mr Khan also faced another charge of being in possession of another person’s identity card.

They denied the charge and according to their lawyer Francis Kadima, the prosecution has called six witnesses, all police officers, and closed their case.

“I had finalised preparation for their defence” said Mr Kadima, adding that his clients were last in court on April 3, this year, but the case was adjourned until July 12.

Mr Khan had two wives and five children.

The murder was greeted with outrage from the Muslim Human Rights Forum, who in a statement termed it extrajudicial.

“The Muslim Human Rights Forum strongly condemns the apparent extra-judicial killing of an Islamic activist and the disappearance of another after being abducted from a matatu they were travelling in near the Nakumatt Supermarket, Likoni Branch in Mombasa on Tuesday morning,” the forum’s chairman Al-Amin Kimathi said.

He maintained that the two were removed from the matatu by heavily armed men suspected to be policemen who had been trailing them and bundled into two separate Toyota Probox station wagon cars, which sped off in broad daylight at 11 am.

Independent probe

The forum identified the missing man as Mr Kassim-Bakhit, a blind man from Kibera in Nairobi, saying he had been abducted three weeks ago outside Nairobi’s Jamia Mosque.

“We demand that the government institutes an independent probe into these abductions and killing and bring the officers found culpable to book. We also demand the immediate production of Mr Kassim-Bakhit and an assurance of his safety,” the Forum stated.