Islamic militant group abducts and kills Kenyan chief

There has been no word yet from al-Shabab or the Kenyan authorities over the killing.

 

Armed men suspected to be members of Islamist militant group, Al-Shabab have reportedly kidnapped and killed a Kenyan chief.

According to BBC, Chief Muktar Otieno was seized early on Thursday morning on the road to Mandera town, close to the border between Kenya and Somalia.

He was then tied to a tree and shot dead by the militants, after locals failed to pay a ransom, as revealed by assistant chief Abdinoor Dakane.

According to the assistant chief, who witnessed Otieno's abduction, a group of local elders managed to track down the assailants to a town on the Kenyan-Somali border.

The group then pleaded with the militants to release the chief, but when they failed to pay a ransom of 4m Kenyan shillings (about N8.3 million) he was shot dead in front of the clan elders.

Following the execution, Dakane told the BBC that he was now resigning from his position as assistant chief of Arabia ward because he feared for his life.

There has been no word yet from al-Shabab or the Kenyan authorities.

It would be recalled that the group had last month attacked the Garissa University and killed 148 people mostly students.