For six years, the family of Wanjiku Mburu, popularly known as Mama Baha because of her role on Machachari TV show, has been suffering in silence after two members of their family were abducted by Al Shabaab militants in Mogadishu, Somalia.
Ms Mburu, in a touching video that was released two days ago, says that the government has done little to assist them and have her brother George Mburu and a cousin back home.
In the video, Ms Mburu claims that as soon as they raised concerns over the incident, the government told them that they should keep silent about the abduction incident if at all they wanted to be assisted.
In addition, they were told that the government would not negotiate with the terrorists as it was a policy.
“As a family we have been really patient and the government has not done anything to show that at least they are following up the matter. Not even helping us get counselling,” Ms Mburu said.
According to Ms Mburu, her brother left Kenya on January 5, 2014 for Mogadishu to seek greener pastures.
JKIA
On the day he was leaving, they spoke on phone as she was not in a position to escort him to the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
“We agreed that he should tell me once he arrived in Mogadishu and I asked him to be extra careful,” Ms Mburu narrates in the video.
Eleven days later, the family was informed by a close relative that the duo had been kidnapped by suspected militants and since then, life has never been the same for the family.
Ms Mburu said that at some point, they hatched a plan to go and see President Uhuru Kenyatta over the matter but they were barred by government officials who promised that they would ensure they get help.
“They were so promising as we talked and I liked the whole idea. However, when I tried to reach out to them the following day, they all told me that they were in a meeting before they finally started ignoring my calls,” she said.
RECORDED STATEMENTS
She said that they have recorded statements with the office of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) on the matter, shared details with officials at Foreign Affairs offices and the Somali Embassy in Kenya but so little has been done to assist them.
Ms Mburu wonders why President Kenyatta opted to travel all the way to Cuba after two Cuban doctors were abducted by militants and taken to Somalia yet he has never done the same to the Kenyan families who have undergone the same experience.
The video ends with Ms Mburu saying that they cannot afford the ransom that the militants are demanding in exchange of their freedom.
“Even if we sell everything that we have, we cannot afford the ransom they are demanding. We are now wondering why the government is doing so little to assist us,” she said.
“My fellow Kenyans kindly help me,” she says.
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