The Lower Eastern Times Opening The Third Eye
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By: BBC
The disappearance of more than 80 government critics over the past six months has caused widespread public outrage in Kenya.
A judge has warned that he will hold top security officials in contempt of court on Monday if they fail to appear for a third time to answer a series of recent kidnapping allegations.
The case is linked to the disappearance of citizens as highlighted by the Kenya National Human Rights Commission since national protests against proposed tax increases began in June last year.
About 24 people are said to be still missing.
The police and government deny kidnappings and illegally detaining protesters, but the country has a history of state-sponsored kidnappings, and some Kenyans fear that the nation is slipping back into a life of darkness.
Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja and Director of Criminal Investigations Mohamed Amin were ordered to produce in court seven influential social media figures who disappeared in December.
Five suddenly reappeared in early January in various parts of the country.
Mr Kanja’s lawyers asked the court for more time to record their statements and file a report.
Billy Mwangi is one of the five. The 24-year-old was abandoned by his alleged kidnappers 75 kilometers from his hometown of Embu, in central Kenya, in an apparent act of intimidation.
Billy’s father, Gerald Mwangi Karicha, told the BBC his son was traumatized.
“The boy hasn’t said much,” he said. “All I can say is that when he came, he wasn’t normal. He seemed shocked.”
Billy, a university student who was a vocal critic of the government on social media, disappeared on December 21, 2024, while at a barber shop in Embu.
According to witnesses, masked men arrived in a Toyota Fielder and a pick-up truck, tied him to one of the vehicles and drove away at high speed.
After a few hours, his family’s deepest fears began to unfold.
“Most weekends, we’re together watching football. His club is Chelsea; mine is Arsenal,” Gerald said.
She called Billy to discuss a football match on the evening of his disappearance, and found her son’s phone was switched off.
The barbershop owner later informed him of the kidnapping, leading to a massive manhunt.
Billy’s mother fainted when she heard the news and the following weeks were sad for the family.
Once found, Billy was taken to the hospital for a routine checkup. His family says he is still recovering from the trauma, but his release has brought them some relief.
Like many who have resurfaced after alleged kidnappings, Billy has said little about his ordeal, perhaps out of fear.
Jamil and Aslam Longton also remained silent after being released in September after serving 32 days in captivity.
The brothers were warned, says Jamil, that they would be killed if they spoke to the media.
Three months later, a government official publicly described their case as a lawful arrest.
The brothers took this as proof that a government agency was responsible for what they had experienced and found the courage to speak out.
“The Kenyan constitution is very clear,” says Jamil. “You should be arrested and taken to court within 24 hours. Ours was 32 days. We were never given a lawyer to represent us anywhere.”
“We were not allowed to see our family or communicate with our family. So this is not an arrest, this is a kidnapping.”
The brothers told the BBC that Aslam helped organize protests against tax increases in the town of Kitengela near the capital, Nairobi, and had been warned by security officials to stop his activities.
One day in August, the two were taken from their home, put in a car, hooded and handcuffed, and taken to an unknown location where they were held in small, dark cells.
Aslam says he was beaten repeatedly, his tormentor demanding to know who was sponsoring the protests.
“I was so scared,” he says. “When the door opened the man came with a wire cutter and an iron.”
“I was scared because I didn’t know if he was coming to beat me or finish me off – there were only two options: beat me or kill me.”
Jamil describes their captors as heavily armed, able to track their cell phones and confident enough to kidnap them in broad daylight, operating without fear, an issue that human rights groups have repeatedly reported.
But this does not mean they are official security officials, says government spokesman Isaac Mwaura, denying that the government is involved in the kidnappings.
“Organized security can also be part of organized crime,” he told the BBC.
“It could also be for political reasons… Our political opponents have made a lot of noise about this issue. They are definitely using it to attack us politically.”
Mr Mwaura refused to discuss the case of government minister Justin Muturi, one of the most serious indictments of Kenya’s security services.
Muturi says his son was taken by the National Intelligence Service (NIS) and released after appealing directly to President William Ruto.
“That is a matter for investigation, because that is his side of the story,” said Mr Mwaura. “But what is the story of the National Intelligence Service’s counter-narrative?
“I would like to state categorically that the president of the republic of Kenya, who is the head of state, has not authorized any form of kidnapping, because he is a person who believes in the rule of law.”
Indeed, Ruto has publicly promised to end the kidnappings, forced to respond to public outrage, and concerns from Western allies.
Many are concerned that the systematic disappearance of anti-government activists has resurfaced in this way, recalling similar tactics under the authoritarian leadership of Daniel arap Moi in the 1980s and 1990s.
Gitobu Imanyara, a journalist and activist who campaigned for many political parties in the early 1990s, was arrested and beaten by the Moi regime. He has no doubt that he sees “Moi’s playbook” at work.
But, he says, times have changed. Constitutional amendments have introduced more accountability mechanisms and “there is a larger segment of Kenyan society that will not be intimidated”.
“The democratic space has expanded to the point where the government cannot ignore the democratic voices of the opposition,” he told the BBC.
With social media, “word spreads instantly”, he said.
“We can’t be monitored the way we were monitored in those days when we could only use landlines.”
Reports of missing people have decreased in recent weeks.
But despite the announcement of a police investigation, no one has been charged or convicted for carrying out the act.
Several advocacy organizations have submitted a petition to the attorney general requesting that kidnapping cases be referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
As for the families of those who have not yet been found, the nightmare continues to haunt them.
“We are very heartbroken,” says Stacey Mutua, sister of Steve Mbisi, one of the seven who disappeared in December.
“We hope they release him. [Most] of the abductees were released, but he is still missing. We pray he will be found.”
