Kenyan Doctor Held by Al‑Shabaab Appeals to UN and President Ruto for Release

MOGADISHU, Somalia — A Kenyan doctor who says he was working on a United Nations medical evacuation team in Somalia has appeared in a video appealing to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Kenyan President William Ruto, saying he and colleagues have been held by al-Shabab for more than a year and a half following a helicopter crash.

The man, identifying himself as Dr. Ambrose Kimiti, says the aircraft carrying the medical team crash-landed on Jan. 10, 2024, in territory controlled by al-Shabab while on an official humanitarian mission. He said repeated efforts to reach the United Nations after the crash failed to produce help or any talks toward securing their release.

“We believed we were serving a humanitarian cause, but the United Nations has failed to work toward securing our freedom,” Kimiti said in the recorded message, urging Guterres to intervene and stressing what he described as the UN’s duty to protect staff and contractors deployed under its mandate.

Kimiti appealed to Ruto to use Kenya’s diplomatic and regional security channels to push for their release and asked the Kenyan public to back efforts to free the captives. He did not specify how many people are being held or their current condition.

The United Nations and the Kenyan government had not issued public statements in response to the appeal as of publication.

The video follows a similar plea circulated recently by a Ukrainian pilot who said he was captured after a UN-contracted aircraft made a forced landing in al-Shabab-held territory. In that message, the pilot urged both the UN and the Ukrainian government to open negotiations to free remaining crew members.

The latest appeal underscores the dangers faced by humanitarian and aviation personnel operating in Somalia, where al-Shabab — an al-Qaida-linked extremist group — maintains control over parts of the country and routinely targets government forces, civilians and international operations. UN agencies and their contractors run medical evacuations, aid flights and logistical missions across Somalia to support relief operations and the Somali government, often under tight security protocols.

Hostage-taking has long been a risk in Somalia’s conflict zones, complicating relief work and air operations across districts where ground access is constrained by security threats and poor infrastructure. Aviation incidents — including emergency landings and crashes caused by mechanical issues, weather or hostile fire — can leave crews exposed in areas where state authority is limited.

In hostage cases involving international staff and contractors, responses typically involve a mix of quiet diplomacy, security assessments and the use of specialized negotiators. The UN generally avoids commenting on sensitive incidents while efforts are under way, and both the world body and member states have policies that restrict public discussion of ransom or concessions. It was not immediately clear what steps, if any, have been taken in Kimiti’s case.

Somalia’s federal government and allied African Union forces have intensified operations against al-Shabab over the past two years, but the group has retained the capacity to stage attacks and enforce control over supply routes and rural communities. Aid groups say access remains volatile, with localized gains often offset by renewed insecurity or shifting front lines.

Kimiti’s video adds pressure on the UN and Nairobi to clarify the status of the captured personnel and to outline what mechanisms are being used to seek their release. Families of hostages and professional associations in Kenya and abroad have historically urged authorities to communicate more openly about welfare and progress, even when details of negotiations remain confidential for safety reasons.

Any confirmation of the identities of those held, their number and condition, and the circumstances surrounding the Jan. 10, 2024 crash will likely depend on statements from the United Nations, the Kenyan government or other parties with direct knowledge of the incident.

By Ali Musa

Axadle Times international–Monitoring.