MANDERA: Five chiefs who were abducted by al-Shabaab gunmen while traveling from Wargadud to Elwak town in Mandera have been freed, Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen has reported.

The chiefs were released on Sunday, April 6, from captivity in Jilb, Somalia.

“Our chiefs who were abducted by the extremists have been released and will soon join their families,” said the Interior boss who spoke in Mombasa this afternoon.

Elders involved in the negotiations confirmed that the chiefs were handed over to Garreh elders in Jilb on Sunday afternoon.

Efforts are now underway to bring them back to Elwak, Kenya.

The abducted chiefs—Mohammed Adawa, Mohammed Hassan, Mohammed Noor, Assistant Chief Ibrahim Gabow, and Senior Chief Abdi Suraw—were seized on February 3, a day before President William Ruto began his North Eastern counties tour.

The captives’ release marks the end of a harrowing two-month ordeal, and their return will come as a relief to the families and communities affected by their abduction.