According to colleagues and family members, Mayow, a reporter for the Mogadishu-based Dalsan TV, was covering Monday’s Al-Shabaab attack on Afgooye when he was summoned by armed officers linked to Banadir Regional Police Commissioner Mahdi Omar Muumin (commonly known as Moalim Mahdi).

Shortly after, he disappeared, and his whereabouts remain unknown.

A local journalist in Afgooye told SJS that Mayow was called by Moalim Mahdi after Dalsan TV published a video showing the aftermath of the mortar attack, which struck residential areas in Afgooye—a key agricultural town in the Lower Shabelle region.

Moalim Mahdi, a former Al-Shabaab defector who was promoted to Mogadishu police chief, was reportedly in Afgooye at the time of Monday’s mortar attack.

When a group of local reporters visited Afgooye police station to inquire about Mayow, officers there denied having him in custody and claimed they had no knowledge of his arrest.

Dalsan TV later posted on Facebook: "The police forces in Afgooye district have arrested journalist Ibraahin Mayow, who works for Dalsan Media. The journalist, who was arrested in Afgooye district, has reportedly been transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) headquarters in Mogadishu.”

A Dalsan TV journalist told SJS that they have not yet seen Mayow or confirmed his whereabouts.

This is not the first time Mayow has faced danger. On 14 March, 2025, he survived an Al-Shabaab attack in Awdheegle district, Lower Shabelle, while covering a military operation. The attack targeted a Somali National Army (SNA) Gorgor unit base in Awdheegle.  Though Mayow managed to escape, he lost his camera equipment in the chaos.

Journalists covering military operations and Al-Shabaab attacks in Somalia are frequently targeted. Just last week, 24 journalists were briefly arrested, and one radio station was shut down in Mogadishu after reporting on an Al-Shabaab bombing in the capital.

Sadly, the Somali media community lost journalist Mohamed Abukar Dabaashe in the bombing.

SJS calls for the immediate and safe release of journalist Ibrahim Mohamed Mayow and urges the Mogadishu police under Moalim Mahdi to immediately disclose his location. Kidnapping a journalist is illegal and a serious violation of press freedom and human rights.

The Somali government and its affiliated militias must respect press freedom and the safety of journalists. They should refrain from targeting journalists, as it is their duty to report the truth, including the attacks and violations committed by both sides of the conflict.

"The abduction of journalist Ibrahim Mohamed Mayow is a grave violation of press freedom and an attack on the fundamental rights of journalists in Somalia.  We condemn these actions and we call for the immediate disclosure of his whereabouts and for his unconditional release,” said SJS Secretary General, Abdalle Mumin.

"While Al-Shabaab targets civilians, including journalists, in its terror attacks, it is deeply saddening that the Somali government is also attacking journalists, raiding media stations, and kidnapping reporters, such as Ibrahim Mayow, from the field. This poses a grave threat to press freedom and the safety of those working to report the truth in Somalia,” Mumin adds.

- SJS -