Westgate Attack: Muslim cleric shot dead in Kenya amidst tension
A Muslim cleric Ibrahim “Rogo” Omar has been shot dead in the Kenyan port of Mombasa, amid high tensions between the Muslim community and the security forces in Kenya since the Westgate attack
The killing came two weeks after the attack on a Kenyan shopping centre, which killed at least 67 people. Somali militant group al-Shabab, stormed the mall in Kenya’s capital Nairobi in retaliation for Kenya’s military involvement in Somalia.
The killing of the Islamic Cleric is similar to that of Aboud Rogo Mohammed last year, which sparked days of rioting by Muslims. “Rogo” and three other people were shot as they drove home on Thursday night after preaching.
Mr Rogo was alleged to have links with al-Shabab and some Muslims accused the Kenyan security forces of killing him -an allegation they strongly denied.
Mr Omar is seen as the successor to Mr Rogo, as he preached at the same mosque – and after his death Mr Omar was given the nickname Rogo.
Muslim cleric Abubaker Shariff Ahmed, known as Makaburi, said the police were behind these killings.
“The police are killing people while saying it is a war against terrorism, this is a war against Islam,” He was quoted to have said at the scene of the crashed car.
The police in Mombasa denied involvement in Mr Omar’s killing. “The police have nothing to do with the shooting. That’s not how we operate,” Reuters news agency quoted Robert Kitur, Mombasa County police commander, as saying.
Salim Abdi was the only survivor of the attack on the car.
“There were gunshots and the vehicle veered off the road, I don’t know how I walked out of the vehicle alive,” Mr Abdi said. “All four others I was with in the vehicle died on the spot.”