Unknown people abduct journalist in Kabarnet, dump him in Lodwar

A 27-year-old journalist based in Kabarnet, Baringo County, is living in fear after unknown assailants abducted him in the wee hours of Monday morning and abandoned him more than 500km away in Lodwar, Turkana County.

Geoffrey Kirui, alias Simba, who works as a sports presenter for Alpha Radio Kenya, said two men, one armed with an AK-47 rifle, and a woman accosted him at 2am on Monday at his rental house in Kaplokony Estate.

Clad in a maroon T-shirt and black khaki trousers, he said he was watching a movie to pass the time after returning from watching an English Premier League match in town.

He said the three introduced themselves as police officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and asked him to accompany them to the police station for investigations into an unknown offence.

“They didn’t want me to confirm from the area Deputy OCS, Inspector Maiyo, if I had committed an offence. At the gate, I was bundled into a waiting vehicle, a white Toyota Harrier, that didn’t have a registration number,” he told journalists in Lodwar on Tuesday.

Questioned about politicians

One kilometre from the gate, they stopped and questioned him on whether he knew certain local politicians and whether he had done any campaigning for them.

“When I told them no, they assaulted me and forced me to drink a liquid that was laced with something, because I lost consciousness. I woke up in an unfamiliar environment at 8pm,” he said.

He was abandoned near Safari Club in Kanam Kemer Estate in Lodwar after being escorted 20 metres from the vehicle by the two men.

He said that at first he thought he was in Marigat because he spotted the prosopis juliflora, a shrub that grows in arid areas in Baringo, and temperatures were high in the area.

But two young men he encountered told him he was in Lodwar. Now in shock, he asked to use their phones to speak to his boss in Baringo.

Boss shocked

“When I called my boss Sam Roberts, he was also shocked to learn about my ordeal and informed me that my parents had even called him to inquire about my whereabouts because my phone was off the whole day,” Mr Kirui said.

Mr Roberts connected him with Lodwar-based journalists Emmanuel Cheboit (Citizen TV) and Mike Ekutan (Radio Maisha), who took him to a police station to report the incident. They also took him for treatment at Lodwar County and Referral Hospital because he kept vomiting.

“As colleagues, we were really concerned because some abductors harm victims. We accommodated him after he reported the incident, was treated and had eaten. We ensured that he also visited DCI offices in Lodwar for further directions,” Mr Ekutan said.

Turkana County Criminal Investigation Officer Peter Kimulwa confirmed the incident, saying the abductors had also robbed the journalist of Sh7,000 from his wallet and two mobile phones.

Seek further treatment

Mr Kimulwa said that though the victim was not seriously harmed, he advised that he must seek further treatment to determine what liquid he was forced to consume.

“Since the incident occurred in Baringo County, we have done preliminary investigations and we are liaising with counterparts to take up the matter so that the victim can record more statements and assist police to identify … the suspects and the motive of the abduction,” he said.

Mr Kirui on Wednesday afternoon began his journey back to Kabarnet through Eldoret in the company of colleagues, security officers and relatives.

“I appeal to those behind my ordeal to seek legal ways of solving issues and not threats, torture or death because there are media laws and ethics that guide his job,” he said.

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