Why Al-Shabaab has been executing Kenyan fighters within their ranks in Somalia
Kenya Defence Forces soldiers patrol Tabda in the central sector of Somalia during 'Operation Linda Nchi' on February 20, 2012.
By Brian Ocharo
What you need to know:
- Trevor Nyaga, Yassir Mwanjole, and Ali Bakari are the latest victims of these executions.
- The trio was part of the seven suspected undercover agents executed on January 16, 2014.
When the hyena wants to devour its children, it first accuses them of smelling like goats.
This is playing out in Somalia after investigations uncovered how Al-Shabaab militants target and execute Kenyan fighters within their ranks in Somalia under the guise of being spies and informants.
Once identified as a mole, these Kenyan fighters are paraded before the public, bound to a post, and killed in broad daylight.
Trevor Ndwiga Nyaga alias Idris Jamal, Yassir Hassan Mwanjole, and Ali Bakari are the most recent victims of the militants' brutal executions, suspected of espionage for the US, the Federal Government of Somalia, and Kenyan security agencies.
The trio was part of the seven suspected undercover agents executed by the militants on January 16, 2024, in Jilib, Somalia.
They had travelled to Somalia between 2020 and 2021 to join Al-Shabaab but met their demise two months ago in public.
They were tied to a post, staring at the business end of an assault rifle and shot dead.
Nyaga was a resident of Hamza Estate in Nairobi before defecting to the neighbouring country in September 2021, fleeing from an ongoing terrorism case against him.
Nyaga was the youngest in his family. He was apprehended on November 9, 2019, following a police inquiry connecting him to the planned terror attack on PCEA and Salvation Army Church in Nairobi.
Police investigations disclosed that Nyaga, who converted to Islam while in high school in Nairobi, was arraigned at the Milimani Law Courts for possessing extremist videos and materials, including bomb-making manuals.
He was held at Kamiti Maximum Security Prison until October 8, 2020, when he was granted a Sh2 million bond, which he secured and regained temporary freedom as his terrorism case was ongoing.
He briefly attended court hearings before vanishing without a trace. Further investigations revealed that Nyaga crossed into Somalia through the Wajir border.
After spending two years with the militants, Nyaga was caught with an unregistered cellphone loaded with airtime during a random check by Al-Shabaab commanders.
While in Somalia, investigations indicate that Nyaga was undergoing training in a suicide brigade at the camp to prepare him for a suicide mission in Kenya and Somalia.
However, his situation took a turn for the worse when he disobeyed three consecutive orders to participate in a suicide mission in Somalia and Kenya.
He was subsequently detained by Al-Shabaab along with other Kenyan fighters suspected of being informants until mid-January 2024, when the Al-Shabaab tribunal voted to execute the detainees.
Before execution, Nyaga had been placed in the human abattoir alongside his close confidants Yassir and Ali.
Police records show Yassir was born in the Taru area of Kwale County and was a madrassa student in Lamu before crossing over to Somalia via Garissa on September 1, 2020.
Ali, also known as Ali Muhajirun from Lamu, was not as fortunate when he was caught attempting to flee an Al-Shabaab training camp in Somalia in mid-2023.
Upon his arrest, the 24-year-old was found with maps and a smartphone containing photos of the camp.
Further investigations show that Nyaga, Ali and Yassir and four others of Somali origin were used as human targets by a firing squad before an audience of women and children in an open field in Jilib.
“The seven were executed to serve as an example and instill fear among the residents, who were forced to witness the incident,” police investigations show.
These executions of foreigners have exposed the underlying tension between Somali and non-Somali members of Al-Shabaab in Somalia.
It has also been reported that there is a power struggle between Muhajirun (migrants) and Ansaris (locals) for priority and respect is significantly impacting the daily operations of the Al Qaeda-linked group.
“Foreign fighters, especially Swahili speakers, are often treated with suspicion and discrimination in the tightly-knit Somali fighter units,” an investigations report seen by the Nation shows.
According to the findings, locals believed that foreign fighters are out to assume top leadership positions within the group.
In return, the foreigners have been accusing the locals of disparagement and discrimination based on their ethnicity and religious background.
"This tussle within the group has seen the foreign fighters being assigned demanding and risky assignments such as being suicide brigadiers and frontline fighters during attacks on security camps while locals are assigned less risky tasks such as intelligence collection,” the report says.
The execution of the Kenyan fighters on foreign land drew the attention of their families.
The investigation reveals that a few days after the killings in Jilib, a mother in Majengo, Mombasa, whose son had disappeared five years ago, reported to the police that her son's life was in danger in Somalia.
The woman, whose identity we have withheld, reached out to the Kenya police, after receiving a distress call from her son who had fled the country in 2020 to join Al-Shabaab.
“My son told me that he was deceived by people to join the group and was ready to serve jail time in Kenya if only they could please help him return home safely,” the distraught mother told the police.
The woman is not the only one who has received distress calls from their sons or relatives who defected to Somalia to join Al-Shabaab.
Another family in Sese, Moyale town, within Marsabit County, has also expressed fear over their son's safety in Somalia.
The son, who dropped out of school and fled to Somalia to join the group, is now seeking assistance to return home.
According to intelligence reports, the increasing distress calls from young individuals who once aspired to join the Horn of Africa-based group indicate that the Kenyan nationals are facing challenges from Al-Shabaab, despite leaving behind their comfortable lives at home to support the militants.
Police investigation into the activities of Al-Shabaab has revealed that since 2016, numerous foreign fighters believed to be spies have been executed in Jilib, Sakow, Bula Fulay, and Kunyo Barrow towns in the Lower Shabelle region.
“The execution of Ndwiga, Ali, and Yassir is a clear indication of the betrayal within Al-Shabaab,” the report says.
The three join the endless list of victims who were targeted and labelled as moles, resulting in their deaths in foreign lands at the hands of individuals they relied upon and sacrificed everything to assist.
