Two Kenyan hostages have been reunited with their families after being freed by militant Islamists in Somalia.

Yesse Mule and Fredrick Wainana were abducted from the Kenyan town of Gerille in January 2012 by fighters of the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab group.

Mr Mule told the BBC they moved to 19 different locations, and were kept chained and blindfolded in Somalia throughout their captivity.

Kenya denied paying a ransom for the release of the government officials.

Al-Shabab has taken numerous foreigners hostage, including the French spy Denis Allex who was executed in January after a botched French operation to rescue him.

Mr Mule and Mr Wainana were seized some three months after Kenyan troops entered Somalia to fight al-Shabab.

Its troops are currently part of the African Union (AU) force helping the UN-backed Somali government fend off threats by the al-Qaeda-linked group to overthrow it.

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