Salim Mohamed Rashid top KCSE student arrested in DRC on suspicion of terrorism

Authorities in DR Congo have arrested Salim Rashid Mohamed alias Chotara who scored an A- (minus) in the 2014 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE).

Chotara was arrested on suspicion of being a member of the renowned Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an an Islamist rebel group in Uganda and DRC.

Chotara, who was in 2021 included in Kenya's most wanted list, is a a top commander in ADF hails from Mombasa County.

Mohamed is believed to have been radical and extreme since his teenage years, but his penchant for Jihad got insatiable when he travelled to Turkey for further studies.

Chotara, who was in 2021 included in Kenya's most wanted list, is a a top commander in ADF hails from Mombasa County. DCI offers Sh10M reward for information on 5 wanted suspects Pulse Live Kenya

Soon as he was deported from Turkey in 2017, Mohamed was arrested for being a senior member of a youth network that radicalises youth in Masjid Musa Mosque located in Majengo, but was released on 1.5 million bond only to flee the country in 2020.

A number of Kenyan youths from the Masjid Musa Mosque were last seen in the Goma and Butembo cities in DRC after getting temporary unofficial-jobs as truckers.

Mohamed recruited the youths and planned their logistics to DRC by getting them temporary jobs as ‘turn-boys for trucks’ destined for the second largest country in Africa.

Freight Forwarding companies owned by some Yemeni businessmen are often exploited during these terrorist operations.

Chotara was arrested on suspicion of being member of the renowned Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an an Islamist rebel group in Uganda and DRC. AFP

At Goma, they spend a night or two at specific Mosques where they are picked by IS-Central Africa Province (ISCAP) logistician’s and moved to terrorists training camps in Beni deep in Kivu prefecture.

Mohamed is also trained on putting together and ensuring that an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) explodes.

ADF has claimed responsibility for a string of bombings in Uganda in October and November 2021 , and an explosion in a restaurant in the Congolese city of Beni on Christmas Day.