An official with Somalia’s interim government was kidnapped in the Ugandan capital Kampala overnight Tuesday, inside sources tell Garowe Online.

Yusuf Mohamed Siad “Indha Ade” was recently appointed as the Somali state minister for defense. His trip to Kampala was reportedly secretive, with some sources suggesting that he was there to visit his children.

The kidnapping occurred Tuesday evening and the circumstances remain sketchy, but government sources in the Somali capital Mogadishu tell Garowe Online that Kampala residents kidnapped Indha Ade in connection with Sept. 17 suicide bombing that killed 21 people, including five Ugandan soldiers.

Unconfirmed sources said Ugandan security officials leaked information about Mr. Indha Ade’s presence in Kampala to the would-be kidnappers. Ugandan police have surrounded the location where Mr. Indha Ade is being held hostage, according to the Somali ambassador in Kampala.

There is speculation that Mr. Indha Ade had publicly stated that he “knew” about the Sep. 17 twin suicide bombings that targeted the headquarters of the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia (AMISOM) at Mogadishu’s airport.

He later told journalists in Mogadishu that AMISOM peacekeepers did not take proper precautions to prevent the deadliest attack on African peacekeepers in Somalia. Some reports said Mr. Indha Ade had left an airport meeting of Somali and AMISOM security officials moments before the suicide bombing.

GAROWE ONLINE