By Philip Mwakio
Saturday, October 01, 2016
NADIA AHMED-MOTHER TO SOSHI; Nadia Ahmed Mohamed (left), flanked by her 25 years old Son Ikhrima Mohamed (right) addresses the Media in their House at Majengo Mapya, Mvita in Mombasa County on Thursday,029th September,2016. Nadia the Mother to slain Terror Suspect Ismail Mohamed Soshi appealed to the Government to gave her protection from alleged harassment from state Security following the killing of her son by Police on Tuesday at Kisauni/PHOTO BY MAARUFU MOHAMED/STANDARD
“I want to be left alone with my family. Enough is enough’’.
These are the words of Nadya Ahmed Mohamed, 48, who has lost two of her sons to police bullets. Her son Ismael Mohamed Shosi was shot by police in Kisauni, Mombasa on Monday. The police radar is also focused on Ikrima, her third son, who has been branded a terror suspect.
“My son (Ikrima) is confined at home and cannot go out to look for a job since he has been branded a bad person by authorities. And you the media (not The Standard) have even published his pictures, saying he is wanted for terror-related activities,’’ she told The Standard on Saturday. Nadya said she has not known peace since her first born son Idriss was felled by police bullets in 2014 after being linked to terrorism.
“I am being sidelined by the community. This is evident in the way even neighbours and landlords in whose houses I live tend to throw me out,’’ she said.
Nadya says that because she is ostracised she has been forced to move houses five times since 2014. KILLED IN SHOOTOUT Shosi, who had a Sh2 million bounty on his head, was killed under mysterious circumstances on Monday, cut down by bullets to the head and chest.
The official police account is that the man the State has blamed for virtually every violent crime in Mombasa in recent years, was killed in a shootout with anti-terrorism police.
“After Shosi’s burial at Kikowani Muslim Cemetery, only a handful of mourners made their way to the family home for the traditional feast after burial, Nadya said. “We had prepared a meal for mourners but a few turned up to share with us. We had to give the leftovers to our neighbours,’’ she said.
Her neighbours do not associate with her family for fear of being linked to terrorism.
“My immediate neighbour even refused to allow us keep some of the furniture in his house as we prepared to wash Shosi’s body before burial,’’ she said. “I know that all my children are innocent. There has been no proof to link any of them to terrorism or terror-related activities.
The police should act professionally and ensure that they have water-tight proof to link anyone to acts of terror,’’ she said at her Majengo Mapya home in Mvita constituency. Nadya described herself as a devout Muslim who struggled to bring up her children. Besides Ikrima, she has two other school-going children, a boy and a girl.
She blames the police whom she accuses of contributing to their suffering, saying she learnt of Ismael’s killing online. “Now that Ismael is no more, I ask to be allowed to continue living my life with my remaining children since we are law-abiding citizens,’’ he said.
Yesterday the Mombasa County Police Commander Peterson Maelo dismissed reports that Nadya’s family was a target of police harassment saying that they have never received a formal complaints. “I’m not ware of any harassment and intimidation against the said family. That is her opinion and if she chooses the press to complain then we do not know,” said Maelo.
Speaking separately, Mombasa-based civil society organisation Haki Africa condemned the police for collective punishment. “If an individual has committed a crime, the punishment should not be extended to the family, friends or community. When we do so, we create a wedge between security authorities and communities,” Haki Africa Executive Director Hussein Khalid said.