Sheikhs targeted for murder in North Eastern

By CYRUS OMBATI

Three sheikhs have been killed in the last one week in attacks that have puzzled security agencies in North Eastern Province.

The latest incident happened on Sunday night in Garissa town where a Somali sheikh of Ethiopian origin was shot dead in a taxi.

Unknown assailants killed Sheikh Hirsi Mohamed Dubed, 41, as he sat in a taxi at about 8pm and so far no arrest has been made.

The provincial police boss Mr Leo Nyongesa, confirmed two other scholars were killed in Mandera Town and Dadaab about a week ago in similar attacks. "It seems to be a trend targeting officials from Somalia, but we do not know the motive yet," said Nyongesa.

Although the killers are unknown, Nyongesa said police suspect members of the Al Shabaab of Somalia killed the cleric in Mandera.

He, however, said investigation was in progress.

He said they were pursuing clues that the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) of Ethiopia killed Dubed.

He added the killers seemed to have known Sheikh Dubed well.

Preliminary findings had shown Sheikh Dubed had arrived in Garissa in December and settled there while preaching at local mosques.

Prior to his killing, he had been talking on his mobile phone for more than three hours, police investigations have shown.

Both the Oromo Liberation Front and the Al Shabaab are banned in Kenya, with adherents risking long jail sentences including life, if found out.

However, their members usually find their way into Kenya through the Somalia-Kenya and Ethiopia-Kenya borders, sometimes posing as refugees and at others using illegal entry points.