In Mombasa, Mlango wa Papa Mosque is gradually but covertly being converted to an Islamic States ideology indoctrination center and a source of jihadists, an indicator the Al-Qaeda branch in Somalia, Harakat Al-Shabaab al Mujahideen has been badly outbid and routed out of its traditional East African coastal networks. The Mosque, a flashpoint during the Rogo and Makaburi heydays, is giving away youthful members to the Islamic States terrorist organization in the Democratic Republic of Congo (ISCAP DR-Congo).
The eyes of regional Counter Terrorism Operators are focused on Coastal Kenya following a string of suspect terror events traced back to Islamic States terrorist group sleeper cells. In Mid-August, 2021, Abdul Hakim Sagar, a Mombasa based Printer and Mosque official of Mlango wa Papa Mosque was picked by counter terrorism operators. Intelligence warns that, him, alongside Suleiman Mohamed who joined the Islamic States Congo Province group early 2020, are actively recruiting, facilitating hijra, and financing activities of the Islamic States terrorist group at the Mosque located in Old Town area. Sagar is a relative of Haniya Sagar Rogo, wife to the late Aboud Rogo, a notorious Al-Shabaab al Mujahideen recruiter, financier, and ideologue. Abdul-Hakim Sagar was one of Rogo’s best students and had a ‘Father-Son’ relationship with the rogue cleric. Abdul is believed to be a stalwart of the Rogo network, He has ensured patrons remained faithful to the cause and often swear fealty to the late ideologue.
According to intelligence analysts at S.I, there is a great deal of variety in the way Muslims youth at Old Town and neighboring places are being radicalized and recruited for ISCAP. The recruiters have consistently used the mosques, gyms and local Madrassa and Islamic associations as places to spot potential recruits. The recruits are then taken aside, away from the view of the community, and radicalized one-on-one or in small groups then once indoctrinated are facilitated to travel to Congo and Mozambique.
Abdul Sagar has used his printing press to print radicalization material for the group and has kept close contact with Suleiman Mohamed via some specific high dimension communication networks (HDCN) including Facebook Messenger, Signal, Telegram, and 2 other popular encrypted chat platforms, some of which are often recommended by Jihadist Cyber teams. Abdul has also kept covert communication with Nasra Mohamed, an Islamic States sympathizer from Mombasa. Nasra is the sister in-law to Mombasa politician, Mohamed Sagar another relative of Abdul Hakim Sagar. Nasra has been to Syria where she served the Daesh. Intelligence collected by S.I confirms Nasra’s Hijra was facilitated by Abdul Hakim Sagar. Nasra was intercepted by Counter Terrorism officials multiple times in her attempts to travel to Turkey, Oman, Syria, Egypt, and Libya. Dubai immigration officials denied her a Visa after she appeared on the INTERPOL red-list and intelligence reports.
S.I and security services have repeatedly warned about domestic terrorists and grassroots jihadists. The Kenyan homeland will face a persistent and evolving terrorist threat over time. The main threat comes from al-Shabaab Mijahideen, driven by their undiminished intent to attack Kenya and a continued effort by these terrorist groups to adapt and improve their capability, besides the new ISIS outfit in East and Central Africa who original birthplace was Coastal Kenya (Ref: Al Muhajiroun). The threat of ISCAP attacks in Kenya is high, and such the Republic of Kenya is currently is in a heightened threat environment.
Despite recent counter terrorism successes, the threat of attacks will remain high over time. Terrorist attacks do not occur in a vacuum — rather, they are the result of a methodical process, which makes perpetrators vulnerable to detection each step of the way and this is how Abdul Hakim Sagar and his associates have been outed. Because of this, it is important to focus on indications that attacks are being planned regardless of the actor’s race, ethnicity or ideological bent in an effort to prevent future atrocities. Abdul Hakim Sagar accomplices have caused their families great pain and incurred them significant financial loss. Hakim Saggar and his relatives were involved in violent skirmishes at the Mlango wa Papa Mosque as they attempted to eject the Sufi leadership in favor of violent Wahhabi ideologues. The Saggar’s want the Islamic States to support their jihad project in Mombasa, this would mean massive financial support which would eventually give them sociopolitical and religious power in the Coastal tourist city and beyond.
A New S.I intelligence assessment views the case of Abdul Hakim Sagar as a prelude to ISCAP activities along the Somali-Kenya-Tanzanian coastline and that that domestic terrorism and related radical violence will plague the stretch if the jihadist ideology is not demystified and subsequently completely destroyed. The current economic and political climate in East and Central Africa has some similarities to periods (i.e 2006-2008 period) in time when extremists experienced a resurgence fueled largely by an economic recession. These previous incidences have influenced law enforcement perceptions about what is a serious threat thus the robust multi-agency approaches besides swift arrest and prosecutions.
The fact that domestic terrorism is among the many threats to Kenya and larger East Africa and one that our security intelligence services vigilantly cover, and that-detecting attacks in advance is a very realistic goal, arresting the likes of Abdul Hakim Sagar, Suleiman Mohamed, Nasra Sagaar and others directly linked to terrorism is critical in weakening the terrorist ideology and the terrorists network.
