Details of dramatic shooting of Al Shabab returnee in Kilifi

Piece by: Mpasho News
Lifestyle

Unknown gunmen shot and killed a man suspected to have returned from Somalia where he is believed to have undergone military training conducted by a terrorist group.

Omar Salim Unda, 27, was shot three times on the head and neck at close range near Dabaso Primary School as he was driving home from Timboni trading centre at about 7.00 pm.

The incident that took place in Dabaso area in Kilifi North Sub County, Kilifi County, on New Year’s Eve, left area residents in shock.

The man is believed to have been trailed by the occupants of two vehicles, who cornered him at a junction and opened fire.

Witnesses said the man may have been killed by police officers, although Malindi Sub County Police Commander Vitalis Otieno was not immediately available to comment on the incident.

The witnesses said the man tried to avoid hitting the two vehicles that had blocked his way and, in the process, veered off the road and stopped his car.

“Two men then came out of one of the cars, pulled the victim out of his car to the opposite direction of the road and shot him three times at close range,” a witness who requested anonymity told journalists on Wednesday.

He said the killers later drove off speedily to an unknown destination.

Kilifi Member of Parliament Owen Baya and the young man’s father, Salim Unda were among hundreds of Dabaso residents who visited the scene on Wednesday. When journalists arrived, police had not yet arrived to secure the area as a crime scene.

Mr. Unda said he took lunch with his son at home, but later that evening, Salim received a phone call from Timboni and drove off.

The senior Unda said he later heard that a man had been killed and when he went to the scene, he recognized the body as that of his son.

“This is unacceptable. This is an extrajudicial killing,” Mzee Unda lamented.

He said his family had been subjected to three-year’s of constant police raids following the disappearance of his son, and believed that the killers were police officers.

“I wonder why my son was executed this way instead of being arrested and charged in court if indeed he had done something wrong,” he lamented.

Mr. Baya on his part, condemned the man’s killing and asked police to own up if they were involved.

“Such incidents of extrajudicial killings are uncalled for. I urge the authorities to come clear on the death,” Mr. Baya, whose home is within Dabaso area, said.

Police officers later arrived and took the body to Malindi Sub County Hospital while the vehicle was driven to Malindi Police Station.

By the time of filing this story, the police boss was still unavailable to comment.

KNA by Emmanuel Masha