BBC’s Somali Service editor arrested, set to be arraigned for forging Kenyan citizenship

NAIROBI—The editor of the BBC’s Somali Service, Muhaydin Ahmed Roble, was arrested on Tuesday evening by detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigation from his residence in Westlands, Nairobi. In a statement, the police said his arrest came after he severally turned down requests to obey procedural summons.

The suspect has been under investigation for nearly two years by a multi-agency for “fraudulent acquisition of Kenyan documents.”

Muhaydin was taken into custody and spent Wednesday night at Parklands police station.

“He repeatedly ignored police summons and has been evading arrests for months, prompting the officers to raid his home,” an officer told Kulan Post in confidence.

Muhyadin, a Somali national, has reportedly acquired his Kenyan national identity (ID) card from Isiolo by “fraudulently presenting fake documents.” He is set to appear before the Makadara court on Friday morning to answer to three charges, including forgery. Muhyadin was slated to appear in court on Wednesday, but the investigating officer said he’s expecting further documents from the immigration department before the file can be submitted to the office of the public prosecution.

The Immigration and National Registration Department has since confiscated his ID card and passport and placed him on ‘red alert.’

This is not the first time Muhyadin was arrested by the police. Two years ago, a contingent of police officers stormed the BBC offices in Westlands and arrested him after he refused to comply with summons.

Additionally, in 2022, Muhyadin was re-arrested by the multi-agency unit at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi while travelling to Mogadishu, and taken into custody.

The arrest of Muhyadin, who was appointed head of the services in 2020, followed years of investigation into his Kenyan citizenship status.

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