Ismael was just 17 when I told the story that made him a hero in the eyes of the world. Years later he made a shocking revelation
…. What happened next plays out in dramatic detail in the film — but it’s here, in the Star, where Ismael’s story first became public, that I need to correct the record first.
Ismael Abdulle wasn’t exactly who he had told me he was that day we first met. He told me now what had really happened. Al-Shabab had indeed kidnapped him, but not because he had resisted their recruitment. Instead, Ismael was trying to rob people at the local market when a couple of al-Shabab members came up and asked if they could see his gun. He gave it to them; they turned it on him, and said he was a thief and would be punished.
A lot of time, money and goodwill were wasted on this thief but the Star reporter can’t help but remark how clever he was for pulling it off.
