It was a morning filled with urgency and relief when 52-year-old Bethwel Chesir hurriedly left Nairobi for Eldoret, determined to be by the side of his ailing 70-year-old father in hospital.
Accompanied by two friends, he drove with the hope of arriving before visiting hours ended.
But along the Kaptagat–Eldoret highway, about 40 kilometres from Eldoret City, his journey came to an abrupt halt.
Two double-cabin pickups intercepted them, blocking the road. The occupants ordered Chesir and his companions out of the vehicle and onto the ground.
A portrait of Bethwel Chesir, personal assistant to Marakwet East MP Kangogo Bowen, who was abducted at Kaptagat on the Nyaru-Eldoret road last Thursday, allegedly by suspected state agencies who were in two double-cabin vehicles and armed with guns.
Photo credit: Jared Nyataya | Nation
“They spoke to them briefly and after identifying themselves, took him away — leaving the two other occupants blindfolded,” said Stephen Ombego, the family lawyer.
Mr Ombego has since moved to the High Court in Eldoret seeking orders to have Chesir produced in court “dead or alive”.
It is now a week since Chesir — a personal aide of Marakwet East MP Kangogo Bowen — was abducted on August 7. Authorities have denied any knowledge of his arrest.
“My client was abducted by State machinery as he travelled from Nairobi to see his ailing father, who is admitted at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital,” Mr Ombego told the court.
The family has accused the government of silence despite reporting the incident at Kaptagat Police Station.
“We strongly believe our son has not committed any crime to warrant his abduction. If he did, they should present him in court. He was only going to attend to his sick father,” said Richard Kiptoo, Chesir’s uncle.
MP Kangogo has petitioned the government to account for his aide’s whereabouts, linking the abduction to the ongoing security operation against bandits in Kerio Valley.
Speaking during a women’s empowerment event in Sitotwo, Elgeyo Marakwet, attended by Deputy President Kithure Kindiki and Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, the MP urged security forces to spare innocent people while investigating suspects.
“As a leader and an MP from Kerio Valley, I support the operation against criminals but some innocent people have been caught up in the situation — one of them is my employee,” Mr Kangogo said.
Marakwet East MP Kangogo Bowen celebrates with his supporters after his election was upheld by the Court of Appeal in Eldoret on July 12, 2018. File | Nation
In response, DP Kindiki warned against politicising security matters and called on police not to target innocent people. He said it was still unclear who abducted Chesir, but promised a police investigation.
Meanwhile, High Court Judge PJ Otieno has granted orders of habeas corpus directing the government, the Inspector General of Police, and the Attorney General to produce Chesir in court.
“The government must produce him dead or alive forthwith and not later than August 14. If there is no compliance, the respondents and responsible agents shall appear in person — accompanied by counsel and the investigating officer — with any warrant of arrest or detention order,” Justice Otieno ruled in a virtual session on Tuesday.
The incident is the latest in a string of mysterious disappearances in the banditry-prone Kerio Valley.
In early June, Edward Kipchumba Terer, a 48-year-old laboratory technologist and Mark Lomuke, an employee at the KVDA Tot mango factory, were abducted and have not been seen since.
On June 3, the bodies of two men suspected of involvement in the murder of Catholic priest Father Bett were found on the Mogotio–Kiptuno road in Nakuru County. Their families said the men — Simon Yego, 45, and Collins Kipyatich, 22 — had been kidnapped in Tot on May 30.
Father Bett was shot dead in late May by suspected bandits while returning to his residence after preaching in a local church.
Interior CS Murkomen has vowed to take tough action against perpetrators of violence and banditry in the Kerio Valley.
