Tusker FC’s Osborne Monday (left) in action in a SPL match against Chemelil. PHOTO/Raymond Makhaya
NAIROBI, August 12- Former Kenya international and Tusker midfielder Osborne Monday was released from Anti-Terror Police Unit custody after being reported missing from the early hours of Wednesday.
Monday who last played for Stars under Belgian head coach, Adel Amrouche when Kenya were dumped of the 2015 AFCON by Lesotho was reportedly picked up from his home in two Toyota Probox cars and held for questioning on terror related activities.
According to sources within the unit, Monday was taken in after his phone number was traced to a number of calls to Somalia, the headquarters of Al Qaeda affiliated terror group Al Shabaab that has carried out a number of deadly attacks inside the Kenyan border.
Efforts from his SportPesa Premier League side Tusker, Football Kenya Federation president, Sam Nyamweya and Kenya Footballers Welfare Association chairman, Innocent Mutiso and his officials secured his freedom on bail pending further investigations.
Unverified reports reaching Capital Sport narrated during the raid at his Nairobi’s Umoja estate residence between 2 and 3am, mobile phones belonging to him and his mother were taken away by persons claiming to be police officers who numbered ten according to family claims.
His distraught parents waited for more than 24 hours to report he was missing and filed a kidnapping report at Nairobi’s Buruburu Police station on Thursday.
As news filtered through the player was missing, social media went into overdrive appealing for his whereabouts as fears spread he was abducted as #WhereIsMonday and #FindOsborneMonday hash tags started doing rounds in .
Monday is recovering from surgery and was expected to miss the rest of the SportPesa Premier League campaign for the third placed Brewers.
“I rushed to the ATPU when I learned he was there to try paying cash bail to have him freed,” Nyamweya said.
With the country stepping up efforts to curb radicalisation among the youth to stop them joining Al Shaabab, Monday’s arrest was shrouded in further claims he had or was in the process of converting from Christianity to join the Islamic faith, with the player cutting his famous locks for a clean shaven hair cut and was spotting a growing beard.
He joined Tusker from Sofapaka in December 2013 after completing a loan spell at Mathare United following his return to the SPL Cecafa Kagame Cup champions, Azam FC of Tanzania.
