Two years later, relatives still await inquest on man captured at mosque

A photo of Hemed Salim Hemed after he had been seized by Police Officers inside Masjid Musa on 2nd February 2014. He has not been seen since. Photo/Courtesy

Sada Suleiman does not know whether to declare herself a widow, more than two years after the mystery disappearance of her husband Hemed Salim Hemed on February 2, 2014. Last week, she joined hundreds of rights activists and lawyers that picketed at the Urban Police Station to protest the matter of missing people and extra-judicial killings blamed on police.

Hemed’s case is one of the few where the police acknowledged arresting a man later disappeared in their hands. Hemed was arrested when police stormed Musa Mosque to end a convention outlawed by the State. Seven youths, including the Muezzin and a Rwandese Muslim were killed in a hail of police bullets.

When he failed to be charged in court the next day Haki Africa rights group filed a habeas corpus application for his production. The State initially pretended not to know Hemed but when pictures emerged showing police bundling a terrified Hemed into a truck outside the mosque, police changed their story, claiming he jumped out of the truck on the way to the police station.

The magistrate dismissed State theories in this matter as implausible and ruled that he disappeared in State hands. Independent theories alleged Hemed was most likely removed from Makupa Police Station on the night of February 2 and killed somewhere amid police belief that he had something to do with the policeman’s death in the mosque. His family said Hemed had no criminal record and had gone to the mosque to repair an electrical fault.

This suspense has caused anger in Ms Suleiman’s mind and when she joined the pickets she asked for answers, seeking some kind of closure. “Eye witness during the mosque raid say he was arrested alongside others by the police. Other families found their loved ones in police cells but we have never traced him,” says Hemed’s wife.

Close to 10 months after his mysterious disappearance, the family of budding musician Munir Ali Kibwana remains inconsolable and at a loss over his whereabouts. The status of Lavi Chunare, the band he performed with is also unknown, although most of Kibwana’s youthful supporters appear to have resigned to the belief that they will never see him again.

His uncle, Said Breik told The Standard on Sunday that “to date we have not received any information or heard from him,” adding that the police have not come back to the family for any updates. Kibwana’s immediate family declined to discuss the matter whatsoever, evidently still stricken by fear. Police authorities in Mombasa also declined to discuss the matter.

According to Breik’s account, Kibwana was kidnapped by two men outside Golden Eagle Hotel in Mwembe Tayari area of Mombasa where he had gone to buy lunch. “Witnesses told us that Kibwana had already bought his lunch and was about to leave the hotel when a man in civilian clothing with what appeared to be a photograph grabbed him as another one helped subdue him.”

Petrified witnesses could not intervene, believing the two men were armed State agents.

A statement issued by Haki Africa, which documents abuses by State and non-State actors on Friday quotes Kibwana’s family claiming he was abducted by “five men alleged to be police officers” and indicates the artiste is still missing or unaccounted for. The cause of the discrepancy in the number of alleged abductors is unknown.

The family reported the matter to Central Police Station and obtained police reference number OB 8012/10/2015. Last year Regional Police Commander, Francis Mwangi denied knowledge of the arrest, saying, “It could be anyone other than the police. But if it turns out to be the police who took in the young man then you shall definitely see him arraigned in court,” Mr Mwangi said.