Sadly the family of Ali Salim Gichunge shocked by their son’s action is now not only struggling to overcome the revelation but is also in distress over the trail of pain that he has left behind in the life of the victims
Born and bred in a strict Muslim family in Isiolo, Farouk had great ambitions of becoming an engineer. He never missed his madrassa classes at his rural home in Isiolo where he grew up.
The KDF sergeant suspects his son could have been radicalised while studying at a Mombasa mosque where he was also a part-time madrassa teacher.
His sister who broke down in a video said she condemned terrorim so much and could not believe her brother who after changing character the family had dissociated from was behind the terror and blood at the Dusit D2 building attack.
MASK OFF: Unmasking key #Riverside terror suspect Ali Salim Gichunge pic.twitter.com/gg7lT4AL6P
— Nairobi News (@Nairobi_News) January 18, 2019
The father says in his statement that he had called his estranged wife several times to ask about his son, who had also changed his cell phone number.
He complained that the mother had told him that she also did not know his son’s whereabouts but he doubted this. He concluded that the mother wanted to lock him out of his son’s life. Thus, he decided to concentrate on raising his new family with a second wife.
As soon as Farouk left Nyeri, he cut links with his father but remained in constant communication with the mother and her two sisters who are still in school and living in Isiolo. His mother, Salma Gichunge was due to record a statement last evening.