The government has assured that it is doing whatever is possible to ensure the abducted Mandera chiefs are brought back home.

It is more than one month since the five chiefs and a girl were seized on February 3 by Al Shabaab militants at Iresuki area, some 23 kilometres from Alwak where they were going to join the Deputy County Commissioner en route to Mandera town ahead of President William Ruto’s tour.

The chiefs are Mohamed Adawa, Mohamed Hassan, Abdi Hassan, Mohamed Noor Hache and assistant chief Ibrahim Gabow. Since being abducted, the government has never given an update on what is being done to free them.

Speaking on Spice FM’s Situation Room Breakfast Talk, Internal Security Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo assured that a lot was being done behind the curtains.

According to Dr Omollo, apart from elders from both sides of the border engaging in talks, the Kenyan and Somalia governments were exploring the ideal non-confrontational approach.

“There is a lot going on, some of which we might not discuss on air, we are consulting with our neigbouring country, and since the communities along the share similar ideals are spread across the border, elders are actively involved with the aim of ensuring the chiefs are safely back in the country,” said the PS.

Hours after the administrators were abducted, President Ruto vowed that they will be safely brought back home, warning that his government would not allow criminals in the region to terrorise people and derail the region’s development agenda.

“They thought that by doing so, they would stop us from coming here. I must make it absolutely clear that every inch of Kenya is important, and we are not going to cede an inch of our country to criminals. We will go after them, we will deal with them and we will eliminate them,” stated Dr Ruto.

It is understood the Al Shabaab insurgents who are holding the chiefs within Jilbril region have been demanding a ransom in exchange for the Kenyans’ freedom. But the exact amount has not been agreed on since the militia keep shifting goalposts.

Dr Omollo, at the same time, disclosed that they are waiting for Wajir’s Della MCA Yusuf Hussein Ahmed to recover before interrogating him to try to establish the circumstances surrounding his disappearance.

Yusuf surfaced at the weekend after missing for six months. The MCA was abducted by people believed to be security agents.

The Leader of Minority in the Wajir County Assembly was reportedly kidnapped by armed people in Nairobi on the night of September 13 along Enterprise Road while heading to Pangani from South C.

It was not until March 8 that he was dropped off near his residence in Pangani by unknown individuals. The circumstances surrounding his abduction and return remain shrouded in mystery.

According to his cousin, Elyas Abdille, the MCA remained blindfolded until moments he was set free.

According to the PS, it was too early to conclude that Yusuf was kidnapped by security agents. “It is not the responsibility of government to abduct people, but certainly, where culpability is established, action will be taken,” stated Dr Omollo.