The day I received threatening text message from Al Shabab commander over Facebook post I made

By: ABDIKADIR OKASH (@abdikadirokash)

NAIROBI—On a quite Thursday afternoon while walking past the Central police station along the University Way in Nairobi, Abdirahman*, 22, received a text message on his phone from an Al Shabab militant in Somalia.

A caption of the text message Abdirahman received after he made several Facebook posts critical of the militant group Al Shabab. Photo/Courtesy

The message was brief and brutal:  “We know what you are doing. Your Facebook writings against the Da’aish ((a section of Al Shabab members who secretly pledged allegiance to ISIS) will lead you to your grave. Is ilaali wilyahow (take care, young man),” the text message read.

At the time of receiving the text, Abdirahman was walking from the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation’s (KBC) studios along Harry Thuku road after a day’s work and was feeling tired. He was attached to KBC-owned Somali radio station Iftiin FM as a trainee.

“When I received the text, I became numb,”Abdirahman said.

“I literally stopped at the middle of the road to take a second gaze at the message to verify it was not a prank,” he adds.

After I realised it was anonymous number from Somalia, I knew that I was no longer safe.

“I was awake much of the night imagining when they would (Al Shabab) strike,” he said, adding: “What surprised me most is how they got my number.”

Al Shabab is notorious for killing journalists and bloggers critic of their ideology and interpretation of Islam. Since the group took charge of the two biggest cities in Somalia—Mogadishu and Kismayu—at least 30 journalists have either gone missing or killed.

Somalia lost 59 journalists since the fall of the Siyad Barre regime in the early 90’s, according to the New York based Committee to Protect Journalist.

Abdirahman says the threatening message came a week after he was warned by his parents and Facebook friend to stop making posts that were deemed too critical of the armed group.

“The warning was now a real threat and I had to make radical change” he said.

Abdirahman stopped the social media posts critical of the group. He even changed his mobile phone number, but not residence.

“I could not change my residence because I could relocate to a new place and put myself in danger,” Abdirahman reasoned.

He said he was aware of the risk that was involved in the anti-Shabab online campaign because he was a personal victim of the group’s actions.

“As a Kenyan Somali, I am profiled most of the time because Al Shabab claims they fight for me while they don’t.

“I found it upon myself to come out strongly against the propaganda of the group because I am directly affected by what they say,” Abdirahman said.

The aftermath of the last two Shabab attacks on Kenyan soil—Westgate Mall attack on September 2013 and Garissa University onslaught in April last year—has seen a sharp increase in “Somaliphobia” in the country.