For a month now, two families in Bomet have been living in fear, battling deep-running emotions following the abduction of their sons in the Lari area of Kiambu County.
They have been seeking answers that have not been forthcoming following the deflating by shooting with bullets of three tyres of a Toyota Prado Elvis Kevin Langat and Dominic Kipngeno Langat, alias Muge, had hired to travel home.
The two youths, and a yet-to-be-identified female companion, were allegedly bundled into an unmarked Subaru by masked men and driven off towards the Maai Mahiu-Narok-Naivasha highway on December 5, 2024.
It is claimed that at the time of the incident, the three returned to Bomet from Nairobi where Elvis had sought medical attention at Nairobi West Hospital for treatment.
Ms Ruth Boit, Elias’ mother, on Saturday said she had spent sleepless nights for the last month, with the government failing to provide answers on the whereabouts of her son and his two friends.
Elvis and Dominic had been in constant communication with their families until shortly before the suspected time of abduction – a few minutes to 5pm on the material day.
“It is painful as a mother to wake up every morning and go to bed at night without any information on the whereabouts of our children, whether they are alive or have been murdered,” Ms Boit said.
Ms Boit, a resident of Chepkosa village in Chepalungu Constituency, struggling to fight off tears, said police should release the three or charge them in court for any offence they might have committed.
“It would settle our hearts if they are produced in court and charged so that we know they are alive and are being legally held. That would help bring to an end the nightmares that I have experienced in the last month,” Ms Boit said.
Chepalungu sub-County police commander, Phantom Analo, said the whereabouts of the youths are unknown.
“The matter is being handled by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and so far, we do not have information on their whereabouts since the alleged case of abduction,” Mr Analo said.
In the incident that occurred on December 5, 2024, the hired Toyota Prado TX registration—KDC 299C—black in colour—was abandoned at the scene and towed the following day to Lari Police Station after the owner, Ms Davina Bosibori, reported the incident to the police.
According to the police, Ms Bosibori reported that the tracker on her vehicle had been static at one location for the whole day and she could not reach the youth who hired it on phone.
“She stated that she travelled on December 6, 2024, to where the vehicle was abandoned at Mai Mahiu Escarpment along Mutarakwa-Mai Mahiu road and noticed that the vehicle was shot on the tyres and the back windscreen,” The police report stated.
Both families reported the incident at Olbutyo Police Station under OB number 04/7/12/2024. An inquiry file was opened after the Directorate of Criminal Investigations Department (DCI) took over the matter.
“We have visited various hospitals, mortuaries, and police stations in Kiambu, Nakuru, and Nairobi in the bid to trace the three who were abducted, to no avail. It is an emotional and energy-draining experience,” Mr Joseah Kirui, the uncle of Elias, said.
“What is so difficult for the security agencies to let the affected families know the whereabouts of their loved ones and whether they are alive or dead? This is a matter that should be put to rest.”
Mr Hillary Cheruiyot, the father of Muge, said the affected families feared for the lives of their loved ones with the security agencies yet to release any information on their abduction.
“Unfortunately, the government that we are looking up to for information on the whereabouts of our children has not given us any leads and we have been tossed from one police station to the other,” Mr Cheruiyot said.
He said that his son (Muge), who was the driver of the hired vehicle, had not communicated with his family as his phone had been off since the day of the abduction.
“We pray every day that the three of them are found alive so that the pain and psychological torture we have been subjected to is brought to an end. Should it get to the worst-case scenario, then they should release the bodies to us,” Mr Cheruiyot said.
Catholic Priest Ambrose Kimutai of the Ndarawetta Parish in Bomet has said the government has a responsibility to produce the missing youth and settle the anxiety that has gripped their families in the last month.
“If the youth are being held for any lawful reason, their families should be informed. They have a right to legal representation and production in a court of law so they can face off with their accusers,” Fr Kimutai said.
“It is unfortunate that in the last two years, underneath police crackdown against Gen Zs who protested the punitive multi-taxation measures by the government, hundreds of the youths have gone missing with many turning up dead.”
When President William Ruto took over power from former President Uhuru Kenyatta on September 13, 2022, he assured Kenyans that there would be no cases of abductions, enforced disappearances, and extra-judicial killings under his leadership.
But the incidences of abductions and extrajudicial killings have risen with human rights activists, the Church, and politicians demanding an end to the cases.
It has put into question the human rights record of the Kenya Kwanza government with growing pressure for action to be taken.
Dr Ruto has repeatedly said the abductions would come to an end, but no action has been seen to follow that assurance.
On Friday, while addressing mourners at the burial of the mother of National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula, Dr Ruto appeared to throw Inspector-General of Police Douglas Kanja under the bus.
“The National Police Service, being an independent body, can conduct investigations,” Ruto said in Kabuchai, Bungoma County.
