The untold story of Majority leader Aden Duale

Majority leader of National Assembly Republic of Kenya  Hon Aden Duale

To many Kenyans, Leader of Majority in Parliament Aden Duale is the Jubilee government’s foremost defender.

The Garissa Township MP takes on opponents of Jubilee – from the civil society to CORD leaders and governors pushing for more funding for the counties through a referendum – head-on.
His recent spat with Mr Isaac Ruto, the chairman of the Council of Governors, is the latest demonstration of his determination to defend the government of President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto.

For Kenyans who remember the Kanu regime, Duale is a stark reminder of the sycophants of those days. The likes of politician Peter Oloo Aringo, who at some point referred to then President Daniel arap Moi as the “Prince of Peace”, a title Christians reserve for Jesus Christ.
Duale recently said he was ready to take the bullet for President Kenyatta and Deputy President Ruto.
But, beneath the sycophancy is a man whose reputation, together with that of some members of his family, is blotted with scandal and accusations. Duale stands accused of land-grabbing and nepotism, while at least one member of his family has been linked to terrorism.
In a story complete with the intrigues of attempted murder, Duale is accused of grabbing a piece of land belonging to Garissa Primary School where he has now built a four-storey building called Lillac Centre.
Those familiar with the story say that sometime in the 1990s, a group of Islamic scholars requested the board of Garissa Primary School for a piece of land to put up a mosque. However, in 2009, Duale asked the mosque’s management to sell him a part of the land.
The mosque’s management committee was split on the issue but a majority of the members opposed the idea, noting that the land still belonged to the school.
One of those who opposed the request was the committee’s chairman, Mr Yussuf Jama, the brother of Garissa County Governor Nathif Jama.
While negotiations were ongoing, Jama was shot outside the mosque by a lone gunman early last year on his way home from evening prayers. He resigned his position soon after.
Who replaced Jama? Mr Dubow Bare Duale, a brother of the Majority Leader. Soon after, the land matter was resolved and Duale allowed to lease the land.
The school has appealed to the National Land Commission to revoke the lease and asked the Ethics the Anti-Corruption Commission to institute proceedings against Duale. But the complaints have not been acted on for Duale has threatened the officers with censure motions if they dare open files against him.
The second questionable deal involves Duale’s acquisition of a piece of land in Nairobi’s Eastleigh, where he has set up the Nomad Hotel.
The land belonged to the Ministry of Livestock where Duale served as an assistant minister and it remains unclear how it changed hands.
Another dark secret Duale has successfully hidden from his Jubilee benefactors and Kenyans is the suspicion that his family could be involved in supporting terrorist activities in North Eastern region and beyond. In fact some in Jubilee tellingly refer to him as the terror donor within the government, a moniker which is pregnant with innuendo.
In April 2013, armed gunmen attacked Kwa Chege Kiosk and killed 10 people. Kwa Chege was an informal eatery, popular with the up-country people and employees of development organisations.
Soon after this incident security officers in the town questioned Duale’s older brother Hassan Bare Duale.
An officer involved in the investigations, but who requested not to be named for fear of his personal security, said:
“There were too many coincidences, which we simply could not ignore. Our intelligence showed that whenever he traveled to a place, say Mombasa, an attack would occur soon after he left. People came to us and told us to connect the dots. We did but we did not come up with any solid proof to charge him. But it is quite telling that after we questioned him, the attacks abated, at least for a while.”
According to security officers, Hassan, a former Administration Police officer, is shielded by his brother Aden’s political clout.
As was reported recently by a section of the local press, a low-level but sustained campaign of intimidation and ethnic cleansing against non-Somalis is under way in Garissa town and neighbouring villages.

Duale is the MP of Garissa Township where most of these attacks have occurred. However, he has never condemned this systematic targeting of a section of Kenyans in his constituency.
In the past, Duale has accused CORD leader Raila Odinga of nepotism for appointing close family members to public positions of influence while he was Prime Minister.
But those who know him well say he is guilty of the same: He is said to have influenced the nomination of his niece, Mariam Hassan, as a Member of County Assembly on his United Republican Party (URP) ticket.
He is also said to have arm-twisted the National Land Commission and the Ministry of Lands and Housing to hire another of his nieces, Fatuma Borrow, as the Lamu County Lands Secretary.
She did not apply for the job in the first place, but her name was on the short list.  She is said to have failed the interview, answering only three out of 10 questions asked by the panelists.
However, Uncle Aden Duale came to her rescue and she got the job that pays her more than Sh400,000 per month.
The Leader of Majority is said to be currently lobbying for another of his brothers, Noor Bare Duale, to be appointed the chairman of the Kenya Revenue Authority. Noor is a businessman with a lucrative tender to supply drugs to government hospitals in the North-Eastern region.
Other accusations revolve around his alleged role in influencing tenders. Mr Duale is accused of ensuring major contracts in his county by the national government are issued to him and his family members.
These include the construction of five polytechnics in Garissa at a cost of Sh150 million each, construction of Garissa Livestock market, which was funded by the World Bank under the Kenya Municipal Program at a cost of Sh125 million. However, the project stalled due to variation of costs by the contractor.
Last year, another company associated with his family, Hagar Construction Company, was given a contract to fence the Garissa Provincial Hospital at a cost of Sh40 million. However, the project which was awarded under the former Ministry of Northern Kenya Development is yet to be completed after the company varied the cost of the contract.
The Duale family has spread its interests beyond the Kenyan borders. Duale’s sister Arfon is a member of Jubaland Parliament in Somalia.
Jubaland is the region in southern Somalia which was created by the Kenyan government as a buffer zone against Al Shabab militants.
Arfon is a close associate of Professor Mohammed Abdi Mohammed, popularly known as Professor Gandhi, the first president of Jubaland and now Somalia’s ambassador to Canada.
She went to the United States around 2008 on a Somali passport as a refugee but came back when the Jubaland government was being put in place.
The family is said to have lobbied Prof Gandhi and the current President of Jubaland Sheikh Ahmed Madobe to have Arfon appointed to the region’s Parliament for its own interests.
The Leader of Majority hails from a wealthy merchant family that owns a plethora of businesses and properties in Garissa, Nairobi and beyond.

But having achieved financial muscle, the family is now keen on consolidating its political clout, not only in Garissa County but also in the former North Eastern province.
Duale’s position as Leader of Majority in Parliament has given him and the family an important platform to establish grassroot links throughout the North Eastern region for future political endeavors.
“The ultimate aim of Aden Duale is not to stick with Jubilee but someday break out from it and form a strong political party for the Somali community and bargain for a higher post in subsequent governments. That is what his family members tell people in public,” said our source.
The question nagging many people is why the President and his deputy are still indulging Duale at the heart of government despite being linked to terrorism, corruption and ethnic profiling of Kenyans. Could he be hiding behind the bravado of being Jubilee’s foremost defender to pool wool over the eyes of his benefactors? And if so, why aren’t the intelligence forces outing him? So many question, so few answers. But hey, this is digital Kenya. Karibu.

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Islamist Terror Group Al Shabaab Recruits Members With $50 And A Cell Phone, Study Finds

The typical terrorist in Somalia was recruited when he was young, poor and afraid. In some cases, he just wanted $50 and a cell phone.
These are the findings of a new study published this week by the Institute for Security Studies, examining how the Somali extremist group al-Shabab recruits new members. Through a series of interviews with 88 former recruits, researchers Anneli Botha and Mahdi Abdile have created a multifaceted profile of the type of person who is prone to join Somalia's largest terror organization.
Notably, the vast majority of recruits were young. Ninety-one percent of those interviewed became radicalized before the age of 30, which is apt considering al-Shabab means "the youth" in Arabic. The interviewees also tended to come from impoverished backgrounds, and to join al-Shabab as a career rather than simply out of support for the group's cause. In almost all cases, recruits grew up in something of an ideological vacuum, with little to no education and no exposure to belief systems other than Islam.
One member who joined the organization as a teenager told the researchers: "When you join, they give you a mobile phone and every month you get $50."
"This is what pushes a lot of my friends to join," he added.
Another interesting section of the study concerns the role of religion, with al-Shabab using Islam to promote a collective sense of identity, and making membership synonymous with being Muslim. As the "identity of the organization becomes the identity of the individual," the study says, members become more likely to support the group's cause.
Botha and Abile have done important work, and their study is worth a read if you want a better understanding of what drives some extremists. The research appears to indicate that in many cases, there is no specific propaganda or belief that draws people to al-Shabab. Rather, it is the systemic dissolution of social services, security and national identity in Somalia that is driving youths to radicalize.

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Terror Leader Ahmed Abdi Godane Killed in U.S. Strike: Somali PM

Ahmed Abdi Godane, the leader of the Islamic militant organization behind the siege on a mall in Kenya last year, was killed in a U.S. military strike earlier this week, the prime minister of Somalia said Friday on Facebook. A source also confirmed the death to NBC News.

The U.S. strike on Monday targeted Godane, the leader of al Shabab, but U.S. officials said later they did not know whether he had been killed. The siege last September at the Westgate Mall in Nairobi left 67 people dead and about 200 injured.

“We tell the Somalis that Godane is dead,” Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheik Ahmed said on Facebook, Reuters reported.

A U.S. source earlier this week described Godane as “operationally savvy and ideologically driven, with aspirations off the charts.” The United States in 2012 offered a $7 million reward for his arrest. Godane took leadership of al Shabab after his predecessor was killed in an American airstrike in 2008.

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US reportedly targets leader of al-Shabaab with Somalia drone strike

Members of al Shabaab, al Qaeda-linked insurgents, ride in their pick-up trucks after distributing relief to famine-stricken people outside Mogadishu, Somalia

A U.S. drone reportedly targeted the leader of the Al Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab group in a strike in southern Somalia Monday.

Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby provided few details about the nature of the operation, the results of which he said were being assessed.

"We are assessing the results of the operation and will provide additional information as and when appropriate," he said in a statement.

A senior Somali official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press that a U.S. drone targeted al-Shabaab leader Ahmed Abdi Godane as he left a meeting of the group's top leaders. The official told AP that intelligence indicated Godane "might have been killed along with other militants."

The official said that the strike took place in a forest near Sablale district, 105 miles south of Mogadishu, where the group trains its fighters. The governor of Somalia's Lower Shabelle region, Abdiqadir Mohamed Nor, told The Associated Press that as government and African Union forces were heading to a town in Sablale district, they heard something that sounded like an "earthquake" as drones struck al-Shabaab bases.

"There was an airstrike near Sablale, we saw something," Nor said.

The U.S. action comes after Somalia's government forces regained control of a high security prison in the capital that was attacked Sunday by seven heavily armed suspected Islamic militants who attempted to free other extremists held there. The Pentagon statement did not indicate whether the U.S. action was related to the prison attack.

Somali officials said all attackers, three government soldiers and two civilians were killed. Mogadishu's Godka Jilacow prison is an interrogation center for Somalia's intelligence agency, and many suspected militants are believed to be held in underground cells there.

The Somali rebel group al-Shabaab, which is linked to Al Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attack that shattered a period of calm in Mogadishu after two decades of chaotic violence. The attack started when a suicide car bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at the gate of the prison, followed by gunmen who fought their way into the prison.

It was al-Shabaab gunmen who attacked the upscale Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya, with guns and grenades last September, killing at least 67 people. Al-Shabaab had threatened retaliation against Kenya for sending troops into Somalia against the extremists. Godane said the attack was carried out in retaliation for the West's support for Kenya's Somalia invasion and the "interest of their oil companies."

 

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Al-Shabaab attacks Mogadishu prison

Militants from Al-Shabaab militant group have staged a daring attack on a prison in Mogadishu with several casualties reported in the ensuing clashes with prison guards, eyewitnesses and security sources said Sunday.

A group of Al-Shabaab militants attacked Godka Jili'ow prison where several Al-Shabaab detainees are being held, the sources said.

The militants detonated several explosive-laden cars before trying to break into the prison amid heavy fighting with the prison guards, they added.

Casualties have been reported, but their number is yet to be known.

Somalia, a long-troubled Horn of Africa country, has remained in the grip of violence since the outbreak of civil war in 1991.

The battered country had appeared to inch closer to stability with the intervention of African Union troops tasked with combatting Al-Shabaab militant group.

Yet, the group still remains active in several parts of the country, waging a relentless campaign of attacks against government officials and security sites, which left hundreds dead.

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Why radical jihadists are cropping up in Minnesota, leaving to join terrorist groups

Minnesota is the land of 10,000 lakes, home of the Twins and the Timberwolves — and the unlikely incubator for a growing number of radical jihadists.
As many as 15 Somali-American men from Minneapolis-St. Paul left home in recent months to enlist with radical groups and join the fighting in Syria, according to the FBI.
“They all had the same issues,” said Mohamud Noor, acting executive director for the Confederation of Somali Communities in Minnesota. “They are young men who are looking and looking for their identity.”
Two of them reportedly turned up dead last week on the same Syrian battlefield far from home: Douglas McAuthur McCain and Abdirahmann Muhumed.
McCain, 33, was a convert to Islam who became increasingly radicalized in the years before enlisting with the terrorist forces of the Islamic State (ISIS), authorities said.
Muhumed, a 29-year-old father of nine, was apparently involved in the same firefight with Free Syrian Army fighters that left McCain dead.
“Allah loves those who fight for his cause,” Muhumed posted on his Facebook page earlier this year. The homegrown terrorist bolted Minnesota in 2012.
But authorities say the issue dates back at least seven years in the region. The most notorious cased involved local man Troy Kastigar converting to Islam and joining the terrorist group al-Shabab.

The group was behind the September 2013 attack that killed 67 people inside the Westgate Mall in Nairobi.
U.S.-born Kastigar, killed in 2009 in Mogadishu, was among the first wave of local men who answered the call to join the jihad in Somalia.
Kastigar was the son of a Native American mom, and changed religions about three years before his death.
“We are concerned how this radicalization and recruitment is being facilitated,” local FBI spokesman Kyle Loven told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. “These questions are high priority, and we want to answer them shortly.”
Noor said there are a variety of issues, from poverty to peer pressure.
“Recruitment can happen in many ways,” he said. “This is friends of friends helping each other. That we know for sure.”
NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton said last week there were more than 100 American jihadists fighting abroad. Some are from the New York area, raising concerns that radicals could bring terror to our doorstep.
“We are watching that very closely,” he said.

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FRESH INTER-CLAN FIGHTING IN MANDERA AS ONE PERSON DEAD, DOZENS INJURED

Mandera, Kenya: At least one person was killed and dozens wounded in fresh inter-clan fighting in Rhamu district, Mandera North Constituency. The fighting pitied Degodia and Garre clans and has displaced tens of locals who have sought refuge at government buildings. Mandera senator Billow Kerrow said the fighting started Friday night when armed men attacked the town and injured three people. “Last night (Saturday), they attacked a truck entering the town and killed one person, injuring three others,” Kerrow said. He added the fighting continued for the better part of Sunday leaving several wounded and others displaced. “This morning, they started a heavy artillery attack from three sides on the town from 6 am, and is still going on.” Locals who called the newsroom said there was heavy gunfight between the two sides amid fears of high casualties. Police stayed at a distance as the fighting intensified between the two clans. The officers said they were yet to access the affected areas to check on the casualties.

Kerrow condemned the attacks and called on the national government to contain the situation. He said a week ago, an attempt to attack Banissa town by the same bandits was thwarted with some casualties. He also blamed the government for the situation and demanded that it contains it. “The government is aware that these attacks are committed by one side against another, in an attempt to escalate the longstanding political conflict between the Degodia and Garre clans,” he said. He demanded that the government takes immediate actions to end the fighting that has caused many casualties.

The army, General Service Unit, Rapid Deployment Unit, police and APs are based in town; yet artillery fire is going on in the town. It is inconceivable that they are unable to contain the situation.” The perennial conflicts between the Garre and Degodia clans of Mandera and Wajir counties have been attributed to political and historical border disputes. Some 75,000 people have been left homeless and scores killed, according to Kenya Red Cross Society following the recent attacks. Early in 2013 over 70 people were killed, tens maimed and tens of thousands displaced from the comfort of their homes, after a fighting pitting the two communities started in Mandera county and later spilled over to the neighboring Wajir county and lasted for six months before amicably peace deal was signed. The fighting keep erupting after a brief lull with either side accusing the other of flouting the agreed deal.

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UPDATE ON BADHAI SITUATION

Badhai residents are calling for help as police post seems to be under siege, sporadic gun shots and big bang of sound is heard.
'we dont know what is going on',sheikh Ali gure, an imam of bodhai village which is in the midst of boni forest.
The ongoing incident comes at the backdrop of two high school teachers shot dead at Bula Sheikh three hours ago.
Alshaabab element remain suspect.

Just a phone Call report from Boday Junction goes like this.

" warya Garnd mulla,we don't know what is happening,but the police post at boday seems to be under siege, raining gun shots, big bang of sound is heard,we don't know what is going on,kindly send for Me airtime credit to communicate to other people,we don't know who is who,please do it "
sheikh Ali gure,an imam of bodai village.

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