Police name kidnap suspects of Italian volunteer

Yusuf Kuno Adan (left) Said Adan Abdi and Ibrahim Adan Omar. The three are suspected to have been involved in the abduction of an Italian volunteer in a village in Kilifi County last week. PHOTOS | COURTESY

What you need to know:

  • The police named Ibrahim Adan Omar, Yusuf Kuno Adan and Said Adan Abdi as those to have been involved in the abduction of Italian Silvia Romano.
  • Police have released the details of the two motorcycles recovered by police in the crackdown to get those who participated in the attack and abduction.
  • Twenty people have so far been detained over the abduction of Ms Silvia Romano.

Police have released the names of three people suspected to have been involved in the abduction of an Italian volunteer in a village in Kilifi County last week.

The police named Ibrahim Adan Omar, Yusuf Kuno Adan and Said Adan Abdi as those who were involved in the abduction of the Italian at Chakama village in Malindi, Kilifi.

“The National Police Service wishes to inform the public that following extensive investigation into the abduction of Silvia Romano Constanca, a volunteer at Milele Africa, an NGO based in Chakama, Kilifi County, we have established that the following persons whose images have been attached could have been involved in the commission of the crime. They are Ibrahim Adan Omar, Yusuf Kuno Adan and Said Adan Abdi,” the statement said.

CRACKDOWN

Police further appealed to the public to report to any nearby station when they see the suspects.

“A reward of Sh1 million will be offered to anyone with information leading to the arrest of the suspects,” said the statement signed by the Police IG Joseph Boinnet.

Police have also released the details of the two motorcycles recovered in the crackdown to get those who participated in the attack and abduction.

“We have also established that the two motorbikes that were found by our officers tracking the suspects are suspected to have been used as the gateway conveyance. The motorbikes were originally assembled by Auto Industries in Nairobi who then sold them to Malindi Coast motorcycles of Jamhuri Road in Malindi,” said the statement.

TRANSFER OWNERSHIP

“The motorcycles were then sold to Moses Suleiman Mbogo, and one Joseph Bakuna Kazungu. The above named individuals are required to report to the nearest police station immediately,” added the statement.

Police also asked the public to promptly transfer ownership of motorcycles and motor vehicles once purchased to avoid being inconvenienced in future.

“Meanwhile, the multi-agency team assembled to rescue the lady are doing all they can to rescue her and arrest the abductors to answer for their crimes in accordance with the law. We appeal to the area residents especially the herders to support the multi-agency teams engaged in the operation with information that may lead to the rescue of the lady and arrest of the suspect,” the statement added.

Twenty people have so far been arrested and detained over the abduction of Ms Silvia Romano.

CHARITY

An armed gang seized Ms Romano, a volunteer with a charity, on Tuesday in Chakama, 60km from the coastal town of Malindi, an area popular with Italian tourists and expatriates.

The 23-year-old's whereabouts is still unknown.

"We have 17 people in custody. We have further arrested three other persons whom we consider as persons of interest to this investigation," Inspector-General Joseph Boinett told reporters on Friday.

"They have given us very valuable information which is helping in the ongoing operation to trace and rescue the lady who was abducted by unknown persons," he added.

WOUNDED FIVE PEOPLE

The gang shot and wounded five people, including three children, while abducting Ms Romano and escaped across the nearby Galana River.

A manhunt has so far failed to find any trace of the kidnappers or Ms Romano, who was volunteering for Italian charity Africa Milele Onlus.

Police are probing the motive of the kidnap, including robbery, but some fear Ms Romano could be smuggled north towards the Somalia border.