The

Friday Bulletin
www.islamkenya.com

The Weekly Muslim News Update

Shawwal 15, 1428/October 26, 2007

Issue No. 235

Deportation: It is a Game of Musical Chairs

Contradictions, inconsistencies and confusions have now been the

themes in the saga concerning the deportations of Kenya Muslims to
Ethiopia and it is turning out that the government might after all be
taking Muslims for a joy ride. More than a week after the President
told Muslim leaders that the matter will be addressed, no word has
emanated from State House on the fate of the 18 Kenyan Muslims
being detained outside their country.
While there appeared a ray of light on the horizon that this deadlock
will soon be resolved after the President promised to personally take
charge of the matter, his close condants are maintaining that no
Kenyan was deported to the Horn of Africa country.
On Tuesday in a paid advertisement in a local daily, Internal Security Minister John Michuki insisted that no Kenyan was renditioned
to Somalia and Ethiopia and maintained that the deportations were
hollow and unconvincing.
It is incorrect that some Kenyans have been deported out of the

Desparation as Halaal Credit

shuts down

The closed oces of Halaal Credit Limited at Union Towers Building with a
notice which annouced the closure pinned on the entrace

Halaal Credit Limited has nally closed down. The Nairobi based
Credit Company which claimed to be providing Islamic banking services closed shop on Monday with the fate of millions of depositors
funds hanging in balance.
Though the ofcials of the company claimed that the uncollected deposits amounted to Sh6.3 million, it is estimated that the amount is
well above this gure.
The closure of the company comes barely two months after The Friday Bulletin ran an exclusive report about the operation of the company which among other things revealed anomalies which raised
eyebrows regarding its operations.
A notice pinned on the locked door of the company ofces at Union
Towers building read, Normal operations will not continue in so far
as normality can be maintained. This branch and all branches (sic)
shall here henceforth remain closedAll shareholders are advised to
keep off the premises of the company.
The notice claimed that a dispute between directors affected normal
operations and lawyers will be appointed to assign receiver managContinued To Page 2

country. The truth of the matter is certain emotionally charged people decided to support ghters of Islamic Courts Union to oust the
nascent Transitional Federal Government of Somalia. These people
were actually arrested by the Ethiopian soldiers as we came to learn
later, he said.
His comments came a week after President Mwai Kibaki while attending an Eid Bazaar event in Mombasa requested Muslim leaders
to avail him a list of those who were deported. This was after complaints were raised to him regarding the victimisation of Muslims by
his government.
The list was duly handed over personally to the President at State
House on Tuesday last week by the chairman of the Nairobi Muslim
Youth Daawah Association Issa Ahmed during a forum when a section of Muslim leaders and Imams met the President. The Head of
State promised that he will address the matter soon.
The President also on October 1 for the rst time admitted that Kenyan Muslims were sent out of the country when he said that all Kenyan Muslims who had gone to other countries for fear of arrest or who
had been deported on alleged involvement in terrorism should come
back home.
Michukis remarks are similar to those of the government spokesman
Alfred Mutua who on two different occasions has come out to deny
that Kenyan Muslim were renditioned. He even claimed that the government sat with some Muslim leaders veried that none of their own
was deported. He did not however, give any names to substantiate
his claims.
Last month, Transport Minister Ali Mwakere announced that they
were plans to bring back the deported Kenyans though he did not
give the exact date.
Reacting to Michukis statement, the National Muslim Leaders Forum
(NAMLEF) and the Muslim Human Rights Forum (MHRF) have all
come out to denounce his allegation. The joint report released on
Tuesday said the MHRF report Horn of Terror which gave graphic
reports of the rendition was presented to the Kenya National Human
Rights Commission (KNHCR) who in turn forwarded it to various Government ministries including that of Michuki.
Last week in an unprecedented move, ODM presidential candidate
Raila Odinga in full paid advertisements in some of the local dailies
criticised the government for the renditions and said there was evidence to suggest that the senior government ofcials including the
Head of State, Michuki and the Constitutional Affairs minister Martha
Karua received the names of those deported.

You are misleading the President on

Muslim aairs, leaders told

Some Muslim leaders have been accused of not telling the President
Mwai Kibaki the truth in regard to the grievances and concerns of the
community Muslims.
Issa Ahmed, the chairman of Nairobi Muslim Youth Daawah Group
castigated Imams and other leaders who are heaping praise on the
President while ignoring pertinent issues facing the community. He
said this while handing over the list of names of 18 Kenyan nationals
deported to Somalia, Ethiopia and the Guantanamo Bay concentration camp to the Head of State at State House Nairobi on Wednesday
last week.
Issa whose speech took many by surprise as he rose up to speak
before being accorded the opportunity, noted that the President was
being done a disservice as he was being misled into addressing issues which were not signicant to Muslims in the country.
The reason why Muslims are not pleased with your government and

This Newsletter contains some of Allahs names. Please do not throw in the trash. Either keep,circulate or shred.

Continued To Page 4

Valuable lessons from Halaal Credit collapse

The curtain has nally come down on Halaal Credit Limited. Two
months ago, The Friday Bulletin made an exposure of the operations
of the company which revealed glaring anomalies regarding its operations. The collapse of the company comes in the wake of recent
closures of a number of pyramid schemes which have recently gone
under with the savings of its depositors.
We would like to send a word to the Central Bank and the Provincial
Cooperative Ofce (PCO) to exert more efforts to ensure that the
savings of depositors are protected. Scrutiny should vigorously be
focussed on emerging nancial institutions especially those which
appear suspicious.
These two institutions must shoulder part of the blame as
they failed to act in good time to protect the savings of the
depositors. While the PCOs ofce acknowledged that
the operation of the company was outside the connes of
the law, nothing was made to address the issue.
At the same time The Friday Bulletin alerted the Central Bank furnishing it with information about the activities of Halaal
Credit Limited and the CBK promised that investigations would be
undertaken.
After the collapse of pyramid schemes, there were calls for the CBK
to tighten its noose on these get-rich- quick schemes but the collapse of the Halaal Credit seems to suggest that someone at CBK is
still sleeping on the job.
The collapse of the company could as well as provide us with valuable lessons. After it launched its services in May this year, the Majlis Ulamaa went on to send a cautious note to Muslims not to engage
with the company until the scholarly body vets its operations. This
advise was ignored by many and now the results are out and clear
for everyone to discern. The Ulamaas (scholars) are an important

source of guidance and ignoring their directions can lead to misfortune, after all as the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam said, they
are the inheritors of the Prophets.
Also, the Muslim media should take a cue from this and put in place
a policy where advertisements are thoroughly vetted to ensure that
the consumers are not duped about some so-called Islamic products
in the market.
Granted, advertisements play a crucial role in sustaining the media
companies but this should not be done at the expense of failing to
take in consideration the larger interests of the community.
It is unfortunate that even after the Majlis Ulamaa had dissuaded the
public from engaging with the company, Halaal Credit got
a golden opportunity on Iqra radio station where it managed to spread its propaganda in the process getting the
condence of depositors that it was a credible nancial
institution.
The Friday Bulletin sent a word of caution to Iqra to refrain from giving the company a platform to advertise their products
however this was not heeded. The exposure by The Friday Bulletin
did not also make the radio station to change its policy.
On the same radio station, for the last few months, a riba-based
nancial institution is being given a platform to advertise its Islamic
products which have not been scrutinized by the scholars.
It should be noted that the public have a deeply rooted trust in advertisements airing on Muslim media outlets and there is need to have
proper structure to ensure that consumers are not misled.
As the Chief Kadhi Sheikh Hammad Kassim said, the painful lessons
derived from the collapse of Halaal Credit should endear us to ensure that such spurious ventures are not given any room to prosper
in our society.

editorial

Minister lashes out at US envoy

over killing Muslims

Labour minister Newton Kulundu denounced the United States and Britain for violating human rights in the
guise of the war against terrorism.
The greatest violators of democracy and human
rights in the entire world are not found in Africa but
in USA and UK who preach water to us, but go on to
gulp wine in the name of looking for weapons of mass
destruction and ghting terror, he said at a forum
where the American ambassador to Kenya Michael
Rannenberger was present.
Dr. Kulundu called for the leaders of both states to
be arraigned before the International Criminal Court
in The Hague for crimes against humanity. He particularly mentioned the killings of millions of innocent
children and women in the name of ghting terrorism
in the Middle East and specically Iraq.
The international court of justice is not only for African
leaders but for all violators of human rights, including
those killing millions in the Middle East in the name
of ghting terror, and a way must be worked out to
have them arraigned for it would be hypocrisy to do
otherwise, he said during the launch of the report
on human trafcking by the Institute of Policy Analysis
and Research at a Nairobi hotel on Monday.
He said the world should not keep silent as the two
nations continue to engage in activities that have led
to the loss of lives of millions.
We cannot continue to keep silent as our brothers in
the Middle East and elsewhere are subjected to inhuman treatment by these countries, exposing millions
of children and women to vagaries of human trafcking, and we demand that those behind these policies
as violators of human rights be taken to the international court of justice in the Hague, said the Lurambi
legislator.
He further advised donor countries to listen to the
views of developing countries. On matters of democracy, transparency and human rights, it is the recipients of foreign aid who should preach some sense
on these issues into the minds of the donors, said
Kulundu. After the stinging criticism, the infuriated envoy refused to shake hands with Dr. Kulundu as he
took his seat.

Halaal Credit collapses

Continued From Page 2

ers who shall independently take over all the operations.

This however, was disputed by one of the directors of the company who spoke to The
Friday Bulletin on conditions of anonymity. He said the closure was a ploy by the Chief
Executive Ofcer (CEO) Yassin Abubakar Argwings Kodhek to swindle depositors of
their savings.
The whereabouts of the CEO are yet to be ascertained but the Nairobi branch manager Ayub Alvin Mangare was detained at Central Police Station on Friday last week
for four days on forgery allegations. He is out on bond.
On Saturday, CID ofcers stormed the ofces when they questioned some ofcials
and took away ofce documents. On Thursday last week, Nauria Ali Ongach, the
chairperson of Al-Islamia SACCO Society which gave birth to the credit company,
was also questioned by police ofcers regarding the operations of the company. On
Tuesday when The Friday Bulletin spoke to her, she was unaware that the company
had closed down its operations.
Depositors who spoke to The Friday Bulletin expressed fears that they will lose their
life time savings as a result of the collapse. Ameharibu maisha ya wetu wengi na
ameaibisha uislamu, (He has ruined the lives of many and has embarrassed the Muslim fraternity), a distraught Muhammad Abdi told The Friday Bulletin.
Commenting on the closure, the Chief Kadhi Sheikh Hammad Muhammad Kassim
urged Muslims to be wary of such ventures which aimed at swindling members of the
public. It is unfortunate that these acts of fraud could be perpetrated by members
of our community, we should not allow this to happen again he told The Friday Bulletin.
On his part, the Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya secretary general Sheikh
Muhammad Dor said the company will not be allowed to open in Mombasa as it has
lost credibility among Muslims. Halal Credit had obtained a premise at TSS towers
where it had planned to open up a branch to serve the Coastal region.
In The Friday Bulletin report the Provincial Cooperative Ofce had said Halal Credit
was operating illegally. As a SACCO, it was to operate under the society instead of
operating a separate company, a senior ofcial Fred Sitati said then.

Kenyatta University angers Muslims over masjid

The Kenyatta Universitys Muslim fraternity is up in arms against the administration

which they accuse of frustrating efforts to construct a masjid at the main campus.
In a letter to the Special Action Committee on Muslim grievances, the University Imam
Sheikh Abdallah Abubakar Kheir demanded that Muslim be treated equally like their
Christian counterparts.
This came after the university administration, for the third time issued a notice for
Muslims to relocate the construction of the mosque to another site.
While on previous occasions they assented, this time around they have vowed not
to move.
Construction of the masjid was already in progress when the decision was taken. We
consider this action to unfair to us Muslims, and show a bad signal to Muslim community in Kenyatta University and beyond, he Sheikh Abdallah said.

OPINION

Muslims must see through Kibaki and his teams gimmicks

Dr Mohamed Omar Mohamud

As the elections draw near, there appears to be much discussion

revolving around Muslim voters, occasioned by an apparent clamour
for their votes. There have been statements made by President
Mwai Kibaki and the Foreign Affairs minister Raphael Tuju that are
ostensibly meant to express regrets about the difculties and neglect
felt by Kenyan Muslims.
There has even been a rare moment (and a strange one given his
record on Muslim rights) of President Kibaki clad in a Muslim attire,
replete with the long owing robe (Kanzu) and head cap. These are
all election gimmicks designed to hoodwink the Muslim community
into voting for Kibaki, prompted principally by the polls that show
the soaring popularity of Raila Odinga and his Orange Democratic
Movement (ODM). With the country mainly polarised between support for Raila and Kibaki, the campaign strategists have calculated
that the Muslim votes might just decide the outcome. Accordingly,
the sudden outburst of sympathetic rhetoric towards the Muslim
community is nothing more than the symbolic crocodile tears a
hypocritical display of remorse when your actions bear testament
to the contrary. In the case of the current government, this manifested itself in the unrelenting arrogance with which it dealt with the
grievances put forth by the same group of people. Curtailing Muslim
rights was often done at the behest of a foreign government, nay, at
the instruction of the US government.
There are so many historical injustices towards Muslims that still
persist and this article cannot possibly cover them all. However, a
number of pertinent examples should sufce here.
First, and the most damning for the Kibaki government from the
perspective of Kenyan Muslims, is the transfer of Kenyan citizens to
Ethiopia. Mistreated, blindfolded and bundled into airplanes to Ethiopia, these people suffered the ultimate humiliation and are still being brutalised. It appears that the current government has patterned
itself after the highly belligerent Bush Administration that has either
disregarded or substantially re-worked the existing human rights and
international laws. This is not what a self-respecting and sovereign
nation should be doing to a section of its citizens. You just do not
repatriate your own citizens to a different country to be mistreated.
The proper procedure should have been to try anybody suspected
of wrongdoing in Kenya, including the presentation of all reasonable
grounds for suspicion.
Second, vestiges of undemocratic practices are still played out on
a routine basis in the Muslim community, none more conspicuously

than at the Garissa Bridge, where travellers to Nairobi are always

forced to disembark the vehicles to produce ID cards. This not only
acts as a reminder of the type of emergency laws enacted in years
past to subdue the people of North-Eastern Province, but also renders
vivid the iniquities in the countrys different regions. This is what the
national security personnel should be doing at border points and not
within the towns.
Third, a host of other issues compound the situation faced by Kenyan Muslims: educational resources that are not distributed equitably,
lack of access to plum government jobs even with right credentials,
and barriers in the acquisition of ofcial documents that other Kenyans take for granted. Given this dire scenario, what might Kenyan
Muslims do in the coming elections?
Voting is the constitutional right of each individual, but as a collective
entity, Muslim voters need to seriously weigh the candidates and vote
as a single block.
First, it must be someone with the willingness and potential to bring
an end to the injustices. As demonstrated in the last ve years, Kibaki
is not that person!
Second, mutual bickering in the public domain among Muslim leaders
and organisations will only bring about disharmony whilst perpetuating any disquiet between the leaders and the people. As taught in
Islam, it is an ideal that the members of a community respect those
leaders who are sincere and work for the collective good of that community, as long as they do not contravene the basic tenets of the religion. For their part, the leaders are expected to reciprocate that trust
through the extensive use of consultations in decision-making.
Assuming these two vital preconditions are fullled, the elected
parliamentary leaders in the Muslim community will need to have a
collective national voice in addition to representing their specic
constituencies so that these disparities in the countrys regions are
corrected and any future occurrence countered.
Finally, any elected President will necessarily have to prove himself in
delivering his promises to the Muslim community during the course of
his term, the failure of which must result in a stand being taken against
him after his ve-year tenure. If that happens, we will be faced with a
President in Eid attire articulating nice-sounding but hollow visions of
a Kenya that offers equal opportunities to all. We will then have come
full circle. There is no rest!
Dr Mohamed Omar Mohamud is a Researcher at the University of
Leeds, United Kingdom

John Michuki has once again compelled us to set the record

straight. Other than Michuki trying to dispel his role in hunting down
the freedom ghters when he was a District Ofcer, he denies the
rendition of Kenyans to Somalia and eventually to Ethiopia.
The Minister, typical to the way he has handled the Ministrys work,
is denying facts which have been well documented.
The report by the Muslim Human Rights Forum was presented
to the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights who in turn
forwarded it to various Government Ministries including the Hon.
Michuki in his capacity as the Minister whose Ministry was heavily
involved in the arrests, detentions and actual banishing of the 18
Kenyans to Somalia, later Ethiopia and one- Mohammed AbdulMalik to Guantanamo Bay - Cuba. Also to have been given the report
is the Police Commissioner, Major-General Hussein Ali who falls
directly under Michukis Ministry.
The Minister should be cognisant of the following:
1. On 27th February 2007, Mr. Zack Tum, who doubles as an Assistant Commissioner of Police as well as the Deputy Director of
Operations at C.I.D Headquarters swore an Afdavit before Justice
George Dulu at the High Court of Kenya. In the afdavit, he bears
witness that:
a. He was one of the ofcers who escorted and handed over 39
persons to the Somali authorities on 27th January 2007.
b. That originally, they were to deport 42 persons but 3 persons;
Kassim Musa Mwarusi, Ali Musa Mwarusi and Abdallah Khalifan
Tondwe were left behind due to breakdown of communication.
c. That by the time the Aircraft Flight no. AXK 527 took off, the above
three persons had not arrived at the airport therefore the Aircraft left
without them but with the 39 on board.
d. That some other arrangements had to be made and the three
Kenyan subjects as well as Mrs. Ines Chine from Tunisia were de-

ported to Somalia on 10th February 2007.

2. We were able to obtain the ight manifests of the two Airlines involved in the said renditions. These were African Express Airways and
Bluebird Aviation Limited. African Express Airways was involved twice
in transporting the individuals to Somalia. This was on 20th January
and 27th January 2007. On 27th January 2007, the Police ofcers accompanying the deportees to Mogadishu were:
1) Mr. Zack Tum
7) Mr. Peter Muli
2) Mr. John Koki
8) Mr. Ibrahim Wambesi
3) Mr. Josephat Kirini
9) Mr. Zachary Talam
4) Mr. Richard Koros
10) Mr. Nicholas Koros
5) Mr. Paul Cheruiyot
11) David Mama
6) Mr. Michael Yego
12) Paul Kaikai
The above are Police Ofcers who fall under Michukis Ministry. How
then does he want to play ignorant of such a high powered and large
contingent of his Police ofcers escort to Mogadishu. On 16th February 2007, 3 Kenyans Kassim Musa Mwarusi, Ali Musa Mwarusi, Abdallah Khalfan Tondwe were among others from different countries
deported to Baidoa, Somalia and were accompanied by
1- Corporal Julius Lokale
4- PC Richard Muriira
2- Police constable Michael Yego
5- PC Wesley Mutai and
3- Police constable Erodlin Mwenda 6- PC Stephen Mugedi.
The Minister of Internal Security by his denial of the renditions is by
extension accusing Muslims of lying. If the Minister believes we are
peddling lies on this issue, he needs to prosecute us. Otherwise, he
should know that Human Rights of Kenyans have been violated and
abused and the best the Government can do is to correct their own
mistake by facilitating the return of our citizens immediately. It is not a
matter with which to play politics.

Statement by National Muslim Leaders Forum and Muslim Human Rights Forum regarding Michukis denial of rendition of Kenyan Muslims to Ethiopia

Farouk Machanje
Coordinataor-NMLF

Al-Amin Kimathi
Co-Convenor -MHRF

Muslim Journalists form union

Muslim journalists have formed a body which they hope will improve on
the standards of journalistic coverage of issues facing the community. The
Kenya Muslim Media Practitioners (KMMP) was initiated following a meeting of media personnel drawn from various news organisations.
The association will endeavour to see that the role of Muslims in the media
is enhanced, foster cooperation between and also cater for the interests
and welfare of Muslim professionals in the media eld.
Muhammad Yarrow Areis from Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC)
was elected as the interim chairman. In his address, Areis said Muslim
journalists had an important role to play in safeguarding and articulating
on the interests of the community in the media.
Those who attended the gathering included media personnel from the
Daily Nation, The Friday Bulletin, NTV, People Daily, Nairobi Star, Frontier
FM, Iqra FM, Pamoja FM as well as freelance journalists.

President recieves list of deportees

Continued From Page 1

are supporting the opposition is due to the harassment by your government and in particular the deportation of some of our boys to Ethiopia,
Issa told the President who appeared startled by the remarks.
When you were in Mombasa, you requested for the list of names of those
who were deported, and I am here to present the names to you, he said
before he personally handed over the list to President Kibaki.
The President acknowledged his contribution and said his government
will address the issue of deportation soon.
The chairmans earlier request to be allowed to address the gathering
which comprised Imams and other Muslim leaders was thwarted by the
Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims (SUPKEM) secretary general Adan
Wachu who was the master of ceremonies. Wachu is also the chairman
of the Muslim campaign team for President Mwai Kibaki.
In his address earlier, he had appealed to the Head of State to provide air
tickets for Muslims to undertake the Hajj, the Pilgrimage to the Makka, a
request which The President assented to and promised that up to 50 air
tickets will be provided.

Advertisers Feature

Providing safe water to the needy

Water is essential to the health and survival of every community,
but a safe supply of this precious commodity is not something
many people can take for granted.
In North Eastern Province and other areas where Muslims are
predominant, the problem of water scarcity is evident due to the
persistent drought experienced in the region. Water facilities
are very scarce with residents depending on seasonal rivers and
a few scattered wells for their water supply. Many people have
to spend several hours a day walking for kilometres to water
sources in the process utilising their valuable time that could
otherwise be spent in economic activities which can improve on
their lives. Added to this, there is a risk that the water may be
contaminated, increasing the risk of diseases among the population.
This has contributed to the areas lagging behind in economic
and social development.
This factor coupled with the rampant poverty in the areas, have
attracted Christian evangelical organisations that have taken
advantage of the situation to attempt to spread Christianity in
the guise of humanitarian programmes. Currently, they are undertaking a number of water projects in the district of Wajir and
other areas with an ultimate goal of converting the local people
to their faith.
As Muslims, we have an obligation to ensure that our brothers
and sisters in these areas are adequately assisted in having access to reliable supply of safe water. While during periods of
severe drought, there are concerted efforts to address this problem, unfortunately, these programmes are abandoned as soon
as the situation stabilises.
There is need for long-term mechanisms to be put in place to
ensure that the residents have a supply of water throughout the
year.
Ummah Foundation has been working to ensure that the people in these areas can have secure access to clean safe water supply that is so vital for their survival. Through the water
project which involves provision of water tanks and sinking of
boreholes, the Foundation has contributed in easing the problems of water shortage in many areas of the region. Our goal is
to see to it that many residents have access to reliable supply
of safe drinking water and we believe that with your support, we
can go a long way in realizing this goal. If we can ensure safe
water supply, we can reduce health risks and make it easier for
people to engage in income generating activities to improve on
their lives.
Your contribution to the Ummah Foundation water project apart
from helping poor people have access to water project and safeguarding their faith, it will also secure the future benets of ongoing charity, i.e. Sadaqah Jariyah, inshaAllah. Allahs Messenger
salallahu alyahi wasallam said: Verily what a believer continues
to receive (in the form of reward) for his actions and his virtues
after his death is the knowledge which he acquired and then disseminated, the pious son that he left behind him or the canal
that he caused to ow, or a sadaqah which he gave out of his
property in the state when he was healthy and alive. (Mishkat)
Whichever amount you can donate to this programme can bring
lasting changes in the lives of many people.
Please send your contributions to
Ummah Foundation Pioneer House
6th Floor P. O. Box 58717-00100 Tel:
(020) 2226331 0727-119677, 0733-515917
Email: info@ummahfoundation.net

SATURDAY LECTURE

Media Meeting

Kenya Muslim Media

Muslim-Christian Interaction
Practiotiners Meeting
Dr Abdallah Khatib
Jamia Mosque
Saturday 20th September 2007.
Sunday October 27 2007
From 2.00-4.00 .pm
From 10.00 am
Jamia Mosque Multi Purpose Hall All Muslim journalists invited
The Friday Bulletin is a Publication of Jamia Masjid Committee, P. O. Box 40629-00100 Nairobi, Tel: 243504/5 E-mail: majlis@wananchi.com
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