Kenyan Chief Abducted and Killed Near Mandera in Suspected al-Shabab Attack
A traditional chief from northern Kenya has been abducted and killed in what authorities and local elders believe was an attack by suspected al-Shabab militants near the Mandera–Somalia border.
Chief Muktar Otieno was seized early Thursday morning while travelling on the road to Mandera town, close to the frontier where militant activity has escalated in recent months. According to local administrators, the attackers intercepted the chief, restrained him, and later executed him after attempts to negotiate his release failed.
Assistant Chief Abdinoor Dakane, who witnessed the abduction, said community elders tracked the militants to a settlement near the border and pleaded for the chief’s freedom. However, the captors allegedly demanded a ransom of KSh 4 million, which the locals were unable to raise. The chief was reportedly tied to a tree and shot in front of the elders shortly after negotiations collapsed.
The incident occurred roughly 10km from the site of the 2014 Mandera bus massacre, where 28 passengers were killed by al-Shabab gunmen. Security officials say the region continues to face persistent threats from militants crossing over from Somalia.
The killing comes just weeks after Kenya suffered one of its deadliest terror attacks in recent years — the assault on Garissa University, which left 148 people, mostly students, dead. The government has since intensified counter-terrorism operations and extended an amnesty for Kenyans who wish to abandon al-Shabab.
Mr Dakane announced he would resign from his administrative post, saying the attack had left him fearing for his life. There has been no immediate comment from Kenyan authorities regarding the chief’s killing.
Al-Shabab, which has been battling African Union forces in Somalia for more than a decade, has not issued a statement on the incident.