NEWS ARCHIVE
MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT MURDERED IN NAIROBI
NAIROBI, 20 October (IRIN)

 A member of the Transitional National
Assembly of Somalia, was found murdered in a forest on the outskirts on
Nairobi on Sunday.

The body of Shaykh Ibrahim Ali Abdulle, a prominent Mogadishu-based
businessman and delegate to the peace talks in Kenya, was found - along
with those of a Kenyan businessman and their driver - in the Ololua forest
near Nairobi, according to the Kenyan newspaper, 'Daily Nation'.

Somali sources who saw the bodies told IRIN that "all three men were shot
in the head, execution style".

"This is not a random shooting. It looks like an assassination," said one
Somali source.

However, James Kiboi, a member of the Inter-Governmental Authority on
Development (IGAD) technical committee, which is steering the talks, told
IRIN it was premature to reach any conclusions about the killings.

"The matter is now being investigated by the Kenyan police. Let's wait for
the investigations to finish before reaching any conclusions," he said.

Muhammad Farah Anshur, interior minister of state in the Transitional
National Government (TNG), said it was too early to comment on a possible
motive for the killing.

"We really need to give the police time to uncover those behind this
dastardly deed before we can comment," he told IRIN. He added that TNG
would issue a statement after the police investigations were completed.

Shaykh Ibrahim, who was a close ally of TNG President Abdiqassim Salad
Hassan, was known as a very humble man "who used his money to further the
peace process in the country", Mire Abdulle, a close friend of the
deceased, told IRIN. "I cannot think of any reason why anyone should want
to kill him."

Shaykh Ibrahim's body will be flown to Mogadishu for burial, at the
request of his family, as soon as arrangements can be made, Mire added.

 

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