Refugee shot dead in his car in Dadaab

Detectives are investigating an incident where the body of a refugee was found in a car at the Dagahaley camp, Dadaab, Garissa County.

Locals using the Dagahaley-Welhar road told police there was a car that had been abandoned there on Wednesday July 9.

Police rushed to the scene and established the car had a bullet hole on the windscreen of the driver’s side. His car, a Toyota Succeed, had stalled on the road.

Police said the driver was leaning on the steering wheel with some bloodstains on his back. The deceased was later identified as Osman Ahmed Abdulahi, 42 who is a businessman from block 11 at the Dagahaley Refugee Camp.

A spent cartridge of 7.6mm special was recovered about 100 meters from where the car had stalled. The body was moved to the mortuary pending autopsy and investigations.

Police suspect he was shot as he drove through the road after being stopped and defied orders by gunmen who could be al Shabaab militants or local militia.

Al Shabaab militants operate in the area and target motorists on major roads. Police have mounted operations that have diminished the attacks by large numbers.

The area is near the Kenya-Somalia border, which has been facing security challenges from the terror group.

It also hosts thousands of refugees who are a challenge to handle. Some are pursued by gunmen from the neighbouring Somalia for attacks, police say.

The area has in the past been experiencing attacks by the terror group. The gang crosses from Somalia through the porous border before launching attacks that have crippled operations in much of urban areas in the region.

Kenya has reacted by among others, deploying more personnel and technology in the area to tame the threat and attacks. Local sympathizers have been blamed for the attacks in the region, which have always targeted security personnel and civil servants, including teachers.

Somalia has not had an effective central government since the 1991 overthrow of President Siad Barre’s military regime, which ushered in more than two decades of anarchy and conflict in a country deeply divided along clan lines.