Fury over State's use of abductions to terrorize citizens

Police officers forcefully arrest a protestor during the Gen Z protest anniversary in Nairobi on June 25 2026. [Courtesy, Standard]

The resurfacing of activists who went missing during the recent Gen Z memorial protests in Nairobi and the attempted kidnapping of a senior editor on Saturday morning have reignited public outrage and fuelled debate over the State's alleged use of abductions to terrorise and silence critics, including ordinary citizens.

The latest disappearances follow what rights groups describe as a pattern that has emerged since the June 2024 Gen Z uprising, in which plain-clothes officers travelling in unmarked vehicles allegedly seize protesters and take them to undisclosed locations.

While the return of the latest victims has brought immense relief to their distraught families, human rights organisations argue that the alleged abductions are evidence of an ongoing campaign to silence dissent by spreading fear.

Initially reported missing, the activists were later found alive after allegedly being abandoned by the roadside with serious injuries. However, the families of many others who disappeared earlier are still waiting for answers from police about the fate of their loved ones.

Human rights organisation Amnesty Kenya said the activists, who allegedly disappeared after the anti-tax protest anniversary demonstrations, were beaten and tortured while in captivity and are now receiving medical treatment.

In a statement posted on X, Amnesty Kenya identified those who had gone missing as Collins Ochieng, Muteti Mulinge, Michael Ngigi, Elisha Alam, Fredrick Ojiro and Christine Walubengo.

The organisation said they are receiving treatment in hospital after allegedly being tortured by their captors.

The rights group, however, expressed concern over the whereabouts of Davis Lichuma, who it said remained missing following the protests. 

"Every passing moment without answers heightens concern for his safety," the statement added.

The Social Justice Centres Working Group gave the police 24 hours to produce him, adding: "We shall hold the IG of police personally and institutionally accountable for any harm.” 

Amnesty Kenya called for an immediate investigation by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority and the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights.

"These allegations of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment demand an immediate, independent and impartial investigation by IPOA and KNCHR and those responsible must be held accountable," the organisation said.

The Social Justice Centres Working Group also called on the Law Society of Kenya, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), civil society organisations and the international community to intervene and ensure that rights groups are protected.

The developments come amid sustained scrutiny of police conduct following the June 2024 anti-Finance Bill protests, during which 74 protesters were forcibly disappeared between June and November 2024, according to the KNCHR.

The youth-led demonstrations, largely involving people aged between 18 and 35, gathered momentum after the Finance Bill 2024 was introduced in Parliament on June 18. Protesters took to the streets to oppose provisions that would have increased taxes on essential goods.

Although President William Ruto withdrew the Bill, police allegedly continued to pursue social media activists believed to have organised the protests, as well as demonstrators identified through CCTV footage captured around Parliament.

In a report released in November 2024, KNCHR said at least 60 people were killed during the Gen Z protests  in June and July, while 26 others were reported missing.

The commission also documented 1,376 arbitrary arrests and 610 injuries sustained by protesters, including fractures, gunshot wounds, soft tissue injuries and tear gas-related complications.

"Most injuries were inflicted by security officers. However, 25 cases of injuries to security officers caused by protesters were also documented," KNCHR Vice-Chairperson Raymond Nyeris said during the launch of the report.

The State of Human Rights Report 2023/24 covered the period from July 2023 to November 2024.

"We continue to witness cruel, degrading and inhumane treatment of individuals. Graphic videos and photographs highlight this trend, risking a return to the dark days of impunity," said Nyeris.

A separate report by Human Rights Watch alleged that security agencies abducted, arbitrarily arrested, tortured and killed perceived leaders of the anti-Finance Bill protests between June and August 2024.

The report stated that those detained were held in unlawful facilities, including forests and abandoned buildings, without access to their families or lawyers.

The findings were based on interviews conducted between August and September in Mathare, Kibera, Rongai, Mukuru Kwa Njenga and Githurai.

"The interviewees described how, several weeks after the protests, security officers in civilian clothes with their faces concealed were still hunting down, forcibly disappearing and killing perceived protest leaders. Witnesses and survivors of abductions said the abductors drove unmarked vehicles whose registration plates were repeatedly changed, making it difficult to trace them," the report said.

Human Rights Watch research indicated that the officers were largely drawn from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, who were backed by the Rapid Deployment Unit, military intelligence, the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit and the National Intelligence Service."

Earlier this week, victims of alleged police brutality and abductions recounted their experiences. Peter Muteti recalled how, on December 21, 2024, two hooded men seized him outside a shop in Uthiru where he had gone to buy milk.

A CCTV footage showed two men, believed to be plain-clothes police officers, approaching the shop, grabbing him and forcing him into a waiting vehicle.

His blindfolded and zip-tied him before driving him to an undisclosed location. When the blindfold was removed, he found himself in a small partitioned room, handcuffed to a metal fixture bolted to the floor. He was stripped naked and subjected to intense interrogation, beatings and psychological torture.

For the next five days, he lived in darkness, unable to tell whether it was day or night.