Gunmen in Kenya’s coastal city of Mombasa shot dead a Muslim cleric accused by Washington and the United Nations of supporting al-Qaida-linked militants in Somalia, sparking rioting by youths who burned at least one police car and stoned businesses.
Human rights groups say the killing on Monday of Aboud Rogo falls into a pattern of extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances of suspected terrorists, allegedly being orchestrated by Kenyan police. Aboud Rogo was shot dead as he drove with his family in Mombasa, Rogo’s lawyer, Mbugua Mureithi, told The Associated Press. Rogo’s wife was wounded in the leg, said Rogo’s father who was also in the car along with Rogo’s 5-year-old daughter. He said he and the girl weren’t injured.
Rogo’s killing quickly sparked off protests by hundreds of Muslim youths who went on the rampage on the streets of Mombasa.
The Muslim Human Rights Forum condemned Rogo’s murder, calling it an “extrajudicial killing” and calling for an “an end to targeted killings and enforced disappearances of terrorism suspects.”