Kenya – Citizen Digital, Dec. 25, 2025
The family of Kenyan doctor Ambrose Kimiti Mwangi, who was part of a United Nations medical evacuation team operating in Somalia, has renewed an urgent appeal to the Government of Kenya, the United Nations, and international humanitarian partners to intensify efforts to secure his immediate release.
Dr Kimiti, 45, has been in captivity since January 10, 2024, after a helicopter he was travelling in during a medical evacuation mission reportedly made an emergency landing in an area controlled by the militant group Al-Shabaab.
Speaking to the media, his mother Margrete Wairimu, accompanied by his elder brother Martin Mwangi, called on humanitarian organisations, faith leaders, well-wishers and the international community to help amplify the case and support diplomatic initiatives that could lead to his freedom.
Their appeal follows the circulation of an undated video on social media in which Dr Kimiti pleads for intervention, saying he and other members of his team have been held for over a year and a half. In the video, his message is directed to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, President William Ruto, and the people of Kenya.
“We believed we were serving a humanitarian cause, but the United Nations has failed to work toward securing our freedom,” Kimiti says in the video.
According to his family, they last saw him on December 27, 2023, during a family gathering at their home in Kiandege village, Ndaragwa Constituency. He informed them that he would be travelling back to Somalia the following day for duty.
