Father describes terror suspect as a notorious boy
Mohamed Shosi Malau, the father of the terror suspect Ismael Mohamed Shosi, with other relatives outside Masjid Noor where the last prayers for his son were held before his burial at Kikowani Cemetery in Mombasa on September 28, 2016. Ismael was shot dead by police in Mwandoni in Kisauni, Mombasa on September 27, 2016. PHOTO | KEVIN ODIT | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Elderly Mohammed Shosi Malau said he was not in constant touch with his son Ismail Mohammed Shosi but would often caution him against breaking the law.
- Asked if he knew the activities Ismail used to engage in, Mr Malau said that he did not as Ismail was “a grown man who did things his own way”.
The father of terror suspect Ismail Mohamed Shosi, who was killed by police on Tuesday, has termed him a notorious boy whom he used to warn against crime.
The elderly Mohamed Shosi Malau said he was not in constant touch with his son, but would often caution him against breaking the law whenever they met.
“As a parent, I must feel the pain of losing a son,” said Mr Malau. “But I would not say that I know much about him; what I know is what police know about him.
“We did not share ideas most of the time as he used to stay with his mother, with whom we separated a long time ago.”
Asked if he knew the activities Shosi used to engage in, Mr Malau maintained that he knew nothing about it as he was “a grown man who did things his own way”.
Mr Malau spoke after attending the burial of his son at Kikowani Cemetery in Bondeni, Mombasa.
Shosi’s mother Nadya Ahmed, who was accompanied by his brother Ikrima Mohamed, however defended her son, saying he had been “framed”.
Said Ms Ahmed: “Every time someone is killed, they blame my son for the murder; even when a tourist was killed”.
Shosi, 27, was buried after Muslim funeral prayers, Salat al-Janazah, were conducted at Masjid Noor at 1:15pm.
OFFICERSDEPLOYED
More than 10 officers were deployed outside the mosque and near the cemetery, where family members and a few friends attended the burial.
The preliminary report of a postmortem conducted at Coast Provincial General Hospital's mortuary revealed that Shosi was shot 12 times.
Investigations by the Nation show he dropped out of Serani Primary School, on Mombasa Island, which he joined in 1996 under admission number 1357.
The resident of Ingilani in Old Town was also a good football player, turning up for the local team, Ingilani FC.
Shosi came into the limelight in 2013, when he first appeared in a Mombasa court charged with assaulting a schoolboy.
When the Nation visited the house where Shosi was killed, it was locked with a padlock and clothes were strewn around the room. The house belongs to a woman, Ms Fatuma Masuo, said to be the widow of Kassim Omollo, a suspected al-Qaeda operative who was killed in 2013.
Neigbours said Ms Masuo got in the house mid this year with her four children. When the police raided the house, she was not in.
Kisauni OCPD Richard Ngatia said at a press briefing after the killing that police were not pursuing any suspect and Shosi was alone in the house.
“The woman left for town some minutes before the police arrived,” he said.
Shosi had a Sh2 million bounty on his head.
