A former Al-Shabaab fighter has come out to reveal that he met one of the attackers involved in last week’s terror attack at DusitD2 complex in Nairobi’s Westlands area in Somalia seven years ago.
Speaking to CNN at a secret location in Nairobi, Musa, a reformed Al-Shabaab militant, says he met Ali Salim Gichunge in Somalia in 2012, while undergoing training.
Musa says Gichunge was among those tasked with recruiting and training new members who joined the extremist group.
Musa says that when CCTV footage showing photos of the DusitD2 attackers emerged online, he immediately recognized Gichunge, who interviewed him during recruitment to the terror group.
In the footage, Gichunge is seen wearing a baseball cap and carrying a firearm as he entered into the DusitD2 complex.
“I was shocked. When I saw the CCTV I said ‘I know that guy!” Musa tells CNN.
Musa has also opened up on the rigorous process one is taken through before joining the terrorist organization.
“They’ll eat with you but they are just interrogating you: ‘How do you love al-Shabaab? How did you come here? Why did you join al-Shabaab?’ “That sort of question, but we knew he’s interrogating us,” Musa says.
He reveals that those who fail such tests are incarcerated for months before the internal security team under the leadership of the likes of Gichunge decides what to do with one.
Musa says he went through all the tests before participating in the beheading of a prisoner of war.
“Surround the head, kick it like football and pass it to another person,” Musa was told during the recruitment process.
Musa says once recruits complete the process, those who volunteer to be suicide bombers are secluded from the main group and are taken through thorough brainwashing with daily Quran classes, lectures by a sheikh, and intense physical and military training.
He also reveals that there are many foreign nationals in the group but they are not allowed to stay with the rest.
“There were many foreigners. We used to swim with them (in the sea near Kismayu in southern Somalia) and we fought with them, but they lived in a different place from us,” Musa says.
“Everyone wants to come and do something like [the] Dusit [attack] but they have not been given the chance … given the chance, they will come,” he adds.
