Family Denies Release of KDF Officer Held Since El Adde Attack

By Abdimalik Hajir - Reporter

11 April 2026 - The family of a Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) officer captured during the El Adde attack has dismissed reports of his release, terming them as distressing rumours. They are now appealing to the government to urgently intervene and provide clarity on his fate.

Speaking to the press at their home in Uasin Gishu, his daughter, Katra Abdullahi Issa, termed the reports of his release as misinformation and shocking, saying they have renewed false hope of seeing him again.

Abdullahi Issa was part of the Kenya Defence Forces contingent stationed at El Adde when they were attacked by Al-Shabaab militants in January 2016. While many soldiers were killed, others, including Abdullahi, were captured and have remained in captivity since then.

“We have been receiving calls from family members, his friends, and colleagues. Everyone believes he has been released to us. Even the families of other colleagues still in captivity have been calling us,” she said, flanked by family members.

She said the claims have caused confusion and reopened past pain, noting that each time the family begins to move on, new reports about him emerge, deepening their distress.

Katra said the family is now seeking a meeting with Defence Cabinet Secretary Soipan Tuya, alongside other families whose relatives are believed to be held in Somalia, to find answers.

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She added that the family has lived in agony for nearly 10 years, not knowing his condition or whether he is alive, saying they feel increasingly hopeless and abandoned.

“The government has reached out to us, but they keep saying they are working on it. That is why we are insisting on a meeting with the Defence CS,” she said.

The family is also calling on authorities to track down those spreading rumours and misinformation.

Abdullahi Issa Ibrahim previously appeared in an Al-Shabaab propaganda video after the El Adde attack, which at the time raised hopes among relatives that he could still be alive.