- Rukiya Hassan Ijailb and Alias Dayanaba disappeared from Mzuri Primary School after being taken by their uncle.
- Police tracked the uncle’s phone to Somalia, linking the case to the boys’ father, a suspected Al‑Shabaab fighter.
- Mohamed is also a suspect in a past terror attack, with agencies fearing the boys could be recruited into militancy.
Tension has gripped Mzuri Primary School in Garissa County after two pupils vanished under circumstances now being investigated as a suspected cross‑border abduction. The disappearance of the boys, aged 13 and 15, has unsettled both their school and family, raising fears they may have been taken into Somalia.
The incident occurred on July 5, 2026, when the pupils, identified as Rukiya Hassan Ijailb and Alias Dayanaba, were picked up from school by their uncle, Mohamed. He reportedly told the administration he was taking them to buy learning materials. Head teacher Abdiaziz Roble said nothing appeared suspicious at the time, and permission was granted.
However, the boys never returned. Two days later, their absence was noticed both at school and at home, where they lived with their grandmother. Concern deepened when neither the pupils nor Mohamed showed up, prompting Mohamed’s brother, Jared Osman Shale, to file a report at Garissa Police Station on July 8.
Investigators quickly established that Mohamed had travelled from Mombasa to Garissa three days before the incident and stayed at his mother’s home. Police later tracked his phone signal to Dhobley in southern Somalia, confirming the boys had been taken across the border.
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Security sources revealed that the children’s father, who crossed into Somalia in 2018, is a suspected Al‑Shabaab fighter affiliated with Al‑Qaeda. Authorities believe Mohamed acted on instructions from his brother to deliver the boys to him.
“This case points to a deliberate plan. Their father is a suspected Al‑Shabaab fighter based in Somalia. We suspect he directed Mohamed to collect the boys and take them to him,” a security source said.
The investigation has also linked Mohamed to previous extremist activity. He is considered a prime suspect in the January 26, 2026 terrorist attack in Hulugho, Garissa County, where Boma Location Chief Abdifatah Mohamud and Stephen Vundi Musili were killed.
Security agencies now fear the boys could be indoctrinated or recruited into militant ranks if not rescued swiftly. Officials say Mohamed knew exactly what he was doing, and efforts are underway to retrieve the pupils before they are absorbed into Al‑Shabaab networks.
By Jonathan Mwinzi
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