AFRICA/KENYA - Two religious sisters kidnapped by Somali gunmen are freed, transferred to Nairobi in stable condition

Nairobi (Agenzia Fides) - “They treated us well. All they wanted was money.” This was what Sister Caterina Giraudo said immediately after being set free. She and religious Sister Maria Teresa Olivero were being held in captivity for 3 months after being kidnapped by Somali gunmen. “The faith has been our support. Without faith, we would not have remained strong,” Sister Maria Teresa said, also thanking “the Holy Father, for his closeness to us.”
According to the press, the two religious were freed in Mogadishu, the Somali capital, and later taken to Nairobi (Kenya) on a special flight.
The two Sisters were kidnapped on November 10 in El Wak, a locality in Kenya, on the border with Somalia, by a squadron of some 200 Somali gunmen (see Fides 11/11/2008). The religious were in captivity for 3 months in Somali territory, while negotiation talks were placed underway for their liberation.
Sister Caterina (“Rinuccia”) Giraudo and Sister Maria Teresa Olivero, of the Contemplative Missionary Movement of Father de Foucauld in Cuneo (Italy), were taken from their mission in El-Wak, a small town some 10 km from the Somali border, in a mainly Muslim area. The border is full of Somali people that have fled the civil war in their country. There are also frequent raids of gunmen who steal livestock, however there are rare cases of kidnappings.
The two religious have been working in Kenya for 35 years and in the house in El-Wak for nearly 25, where they have a small clinic and guest house. (LM) (Agenzia Fides 20/2/2009)