The family of a Kenyan man set free by US President Joe Biden, after spending nearly 15 years in a military detention centre, has pleaded with the government to grant him free entry into the country.
Speaking to the media from their home, Likoni Sub County in Mombasa, on Wednesday, January 12, the family requested President Uhuru Kenyatta to honour their wish.
It further urged him to direct the police not to detain their kin who is expected to return home. They, instead, want him to be granted liberty bearing in mind that he was not charged in the US.
The sister, Mwajuma Rajab, explained that he learnt of his brother's release through the media and friends who called to celebrate with them.
Rajab, while recounting the extradition of her brother by the US forces, lamented that the ordeal negatively impacted their lives and plunged them into frustration.
She added that her sibling was arrested when he was married with three children and his youngest kid turned 15 years months prior to his release. Rajab recalled that her brother only spent time with the teenager as an infant before he was arrested.
He also missed their parents' burial as they passed away while he was in prison. However, they always kept in touch with him as he was allowed to communicate with the family after every three months.
According to the sister, the sibling used to work as a casual laborer at a flour mill factory before venturing into a fish supply business with his Somali friend.
The two relocated to Somalia to expand their venture and would later return to Kenya where he was arrested over terror-related activities.
He was further accused of being inspired by a radical Imam to leave Kenya in 1996 to undergo extremist training in Somali where he was recruited to the defunct Al-Qaida in East Africa (AQEA).
The Kenyan was released from the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba after the Periodic Review Board, a US agency established to determine whether detainees at the facility were guilty, analysed his case.
His charges were also dropped. Rajab's brother is hopeful that Kenya and the US will strike a deal to allow him to return home.
