The State will not negotiate ransom demands with Al Shabaab militants for the release of two Cuban doctors abducted in April.
Kenya’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through Cabinet Secretary Monica Juma, said it is against Government policy to negotiate with terrorists. She, however, said an operation was ongoing to rescue the two doctors who were abducted in Mandera.
“We believe that we’ll secure their release in the ongoing security operation but as a matter of policy, the government does not negotiate ransom. We’re hopeful that we shall retrieve the doctors safely back home,” CS Juma assured on Tuesday.
She spoke during a joint media briefing with European Union (EU) High Representative Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini.
The CS was responding to reports that abductors demanded Sh150 million ransom for the release of the medics: general practitioner Herera Corea and surgeon Landy Rodriguez.
Read: Suspected Al Shabaab Militants Demand Sh150 MILLION Ransom for Cuban Doctors
The medics who were attached to Mandera County Referral Hospital were abducted on April 12 while commuting to work.
In her remarks following the bilateral talks with the visiting envoy, CS Juma commended the EU’s efforts towards peace in Somalia through the Counter-terrorism Law Enforcement Project.
She urged the EU to support Kenya’s bid to have Al Shabaab listed as a terrorist organization under the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 1267 of 1999.
