Aboud Rogo

Aboud Rogo Mohammed (1968 – 27 August 2012) was a Kenyan Muslim cleric. He was alleged to have been an Islamist extremist and was accused of arranging funding for the al-Shabaab militia in Somalia. He was shot dead in Kenya, and his death triggered protests and violence by hundreds of protestors. Rogo is the fifth alleged Islamic radical killed in Kenya in 2012. David Ochami, a Kenyan journalist, stated that Rogo had the oratory prowess of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and the logic of Egyptian ideologue Yusuf al Qaradawi. His father is Abdalla Ali. In the 1990s, he supported the Islamic Party of Kenya, participating in demonstrations as an activist based in Kongo Mosque in Likoni. Rogo's relation with Mohammed was that Rogo allegedly had harboured him on Siyu Island between 2001 and 2003 and introduced Mohammed's wife, a local woman from the island.

2002 arrest Rogo was arrested due to his alleged connection with the Kikambala hotel bombing in 2002 together with his father-in-law, Said Saggar Ahmed, Kubwa Mohammed Seif and Salmin Mohammed Khamis. In June 2005, Rogo and other suspects were released. Then Rogo started developing relations with groups in Somalia, using his madrassa, called Sirajul Munir, in Mtwapa to recruit Kenyan people to these Somalian groups. He also developed propaganda CDs and other materials praising Al Qaeda. He was also instructed to report to nearest police station in Mombasa and Kilifi county and to inform the Kenyan authorities if he travelled out of the country. He made similar statements after 6 July terror attack on churches in Garissa. He stated in the letter that the US drones were targeting him and two others, who were linked to Al Qaeda.

Sanctions On 25 July 2012, Rogo was placed on a UN Security Council sanctions list for providing "financial, material, logistical or technical support to al-Shabaab". The Security Council placed him under sanctions and banned him from leaving Kenya for his links to al-Shabaab. The same sanction was also announced by the Treasury of the United Kingdom on 16 October 2012. The council and the UK's treasury accused him of being the key ideological leader of Kenya's al-Hijra, which is also known as the Muslim Youth Centre, and a close ally of al-Shabaab. as he was driving his wife to the hospital. Rogo was shot more than seventeen times in the head and died instantly, while his wife, Khaniya Said, was shot in the leg.

Burial In the immediate aftermath of the assassination, Rogo's supporters seized his body from the security forces. They carried his body shoulder high to the Masjid Musa Mosque.

Reactions The Muslim Human Rights Forum (MHRF) condemned Rogo's death, labelling it as an "extrajudicial killing" and called for an end to "targeted killings and enforced disappearances of terrorism suspects." Both the Muslim Youth Centre and al-Shabaab reacted to his death and described Rogo as a martyr. On 30 August 2012, the Russian Foreign Ministry condemned Kenyan Muslim rioters who clashed with security forces in Mombasa.

Protests After the killing of Rogo, Mombasa witnessed violent demonstrations, claiming four people's lives and wounding many others as well as damaging three churches. Abdullahi Halakhe, the Kenya analyst of the International Crisis Group, suggested that although the assassination of Rogo triggered the unrest, there are much deeper issues at hand. Richard Lough further argued that the riots revealed deep social, political and sectarian divides experiencing in Kenya and that these could cause more violence ahead of a presidential election in 2013.

On the day of Rogo's death, his supporters consisting of over 2,000 Kenyans protested his assassination in Mombasa, especially in the Majengo area, where Rogo's Musa Mosque is situated. Anti-riot police fought against stone-throwing youths as police fired tear gas and warning shots. The protesters barricaded streets with burning tyres in Majengo, which is predominantly Muslim. The mobs also taunted police who arrested protestors and marauded around the city centre, while shopkeepers reported looting in certain areas.

The rioters had fired at police with machine guns before hurling a grenade at police officers, which resulted in two deaths. The police said that at least 16 officers were wounded in the attack, which took place in Kisauni, another predominantly Muslim area. In addition, two more churches were set on fire in Kisauni and roads were barricaded with burning tires. Security officials argued that their control in Mombasa was restored. Protests continued for a fourth day.

Abubaker Sharif Ahmed, a close friend of Rogo, was accused of inciting the protests that turned violent.

Inquiry The Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko set up a taskforce to investigate the killing. The inquiry is yet to be concluded.

Personal life Rogo married Khaniya Said Saggar Said in 1998. She is the daughter of Said Saggar Ahmed, the well-known terror suspect in Kenya.