Seated at a hotel in Kitengela surrounded by rights activists, political activist Bob Njagi, who was abducted and held incommunicado for 32 days by people believed to be police officers in August, appeared lost in thoughts.
It took him 20 days since his release by his captors to summon enough courage to personally speak about his ordeal in the hands of his faceless abductors.
Two brothers, Aslam and Jamil Longton, who were also abducted on the same day he went missing and were to speak to the press on Wednesday, could not make it to the event.
Mr Njagi’s eyes darted across the entire area as if scanning for potential danger. He had every reason to be paranoid after the first venue where this briefing was to happen was cordoned off by police officers who got a whiff of the plans.
Leader of Free Kenya Movement Bob Njagi (seated in white t-shirt) addresses journalists flanked by fellow activists in Kitengela on October 9, 2024.
Photo credit: Billy Ogada | Nation Media Group
This inconvenience forced him and his team, which included members of the Free Kenya Movement and other human rights defenders, to scout for another venue some kilometres away. They discreetly communicated the new venue to journalists.
“I have been undergoing medical treatment, both physical and psychosocial support since my release hence the silence,” he began.
The burden of being underfed, beaten up, denied water and cut off from human contact was evident in his haggard figure- a sharp contrast to the radiant person whose lively conversations stir the hearts of his listeners.
His woes started on August 18, 2024 when he was called by Safina Party leader, Jimmy Wanjigi, who asked him to accompany him to Nairobi Area police station the following day to honour police summons.
Mr Njagi obliged and arrived at the station at 2pm on August 19 as agreed. He was, however, informed that the venue had changed to Nairobi regional police command along Milimani Road.
As fate would have it, Mr Wanjigi was arrested and whisked to Kamukunji police station.
“We followed him and stayed there for the afternoon and evening together with family and lawyer seeking for his release but police were adamant and insisted on holding him until they arraigned him in court the following day,” he said.
Sensing the police would not budge, the activist decided to go back home in Kitengela and planned to go to court in consolidarity with Mr Wanjigi. He was dropped off by some of his colleagues at the Railway Bus Terminus and boarded a matatu to Kitengela.
Political activist Bob Njagi.
Photo credit: Pool
“The matatu stopped at Mlolongo bus station for some passengers to alight when some four hooded men boarded the vehicle shouting huyu ako na bunduki (This one has a gun) while pointing at me. I was immediately alarmed by this assertion and I shouted my name, Bob Njagi and informed all the passengers I was being targeted because of the demos,” he recounted.
Unknown to him, this was the beginning of the end to his freedom for the next 32 days.
The captors pulled him out of the vehicle while raining blows, kicks, slaps and jerked him off his feet then carried him to an awaiting white car. Passengers in the matatu were cautioned against recording the happenings but a few managed to secretly record the incident.
The white car had five people, two at the front seats and three at the back. They drove for an hour while the hooded men assaulted Mr Njagi all through until they came to a halt.
The captive was then blindfolded and handcuffed at the back before being moved to a second vehicle that had four people; two at the front and two at the backseat. The journey to the unknown continued for another half an hour in complete silence.
“I was whisked into a building and ushered into a small, very dark room, barely six by four feet. I was left on the floor handcuffed at the back and blindfolded for two days without food, I only had some water… (he breaks down at this point) only some water, that was administered occasionally by one of the men,” he said.
It was on the third day that the handcuffs were removed from the backside and taken to the front side. He was then moved into another room that had a small withered mattress and a blanket. All along, he was stripped naked.
It is in this new, dark room that was completely sealed with no light during the day or night, where he spent the remaining 30 days of captivity.
The only human interaction he had was when the door would be opened twice a day, in the morning when he would be given me a cup of tea, the waste bucket replaced by another one, and at lunchtime when he would be given a very light meal that “barely kept me alive.”
“The food was unpalatable but I forced myself to eat to get some strength and live to see another day hoping God would rescue me from this ordeal,” he said.
His health, he said, depreciated very fast owing to being dehydrated. He lost a lot of weight during his 32 days of abduction.
He would only shower once a week and when he did so, had to be blindfolded before being led to the bathroom for a quick 10-minute shower before being returned to his “prison”.
“I was held incommunicado through my abduction and denied my freedom and rights enshrined in our constitution. The right to a fair trial, freedom of association, freedom of speech, freedom from torture and freedom from abduction,” he said.
It was until September 20, 2024, at around 12:30 am, when two men came to the cell and asked him to get up, and get dressed for the first time in the past month and took him outside to an awaiting vehicle. The handcuffs were removed and replaced with plastic tie knots and the vehicle departed.
He still remained blindfolded but I remained blindfolded as the journey continued in complete silence.
The car eventually stopped and he was informed that he was being released. He was given Sh400 to use as bus fare and told to alight the vehicle.
His captors then ordered him to remain put until they left. He only knew they had left when he heard the car door shutting and the car speeding off. By the time he removed the blindfold, they had already disappeared into the darkness.
“I started walking not knowing where I was and after aimlessly walking for 15 minutes, I got to Tigoni police station where I reported the matter, recorded a statement and requested the officers to contact my family, which they did. My family arrived later and took me home. I have since been recuperating, healing from this horrific experience,
“I extend my heartfelt gratitude and thank all Kenyans of good will who have prayed, lobbied for our release from abduction. I thank God for being faithful and for the continued gift of life and good health,” he said.
Though shaken from the ordeal, Mr Njagi condemned the manner with which the state security agencies handled the anti-Finance Bill protests that morphed slowly into a pro-good governance protest.
He expressed his distaste for how institutions charged with the mandate to oversight the police have no capacity to do so.
“To date, no police officer has been brought to book to answer to charges of murder, abduction, abuse of office, assault and use of excessive force. This only points to reluctance in the investigation and unraveling those who hired the goons,” he said.
Concerned Citizens leader, Professor Fred Ogolla expressed his solidarity with the Kitengela three who he said were a representation of several others who faced abduction during the Gen Z protests.
“It will go on record in our history that it is through your abduction and the two brothers that for the first time, a Kenyan Inspector General of Police was convicted. This is one of the many wins that we are looking forward to in our struggle for better governance,” he said.
Florence Kanyua, the Women leader of the Kenya Free Movement said they will not be cowed to silence by the State and will speak out to right the ills in the society.
Communist Party’s national vice chairperson, Booker Ngesa, commended Mr Njagi for being “on the right track” and standing strong amidst the injustice, he and the Longton brothers suffered.
On his part, Brian Okeja, the National Youth Leader at the National Reconstruction Alliance Party said that the youth of the country are committed to a course that defends and protects freedom and justice.
“We have been harassed, some of us killed and abducted but still remain focused on the goal, we will not relent,” he said.
The press briefing again had to again end abruptly after two police vehicles arrived at the venue forcing Mr Njagi and his team to sneak out of the venue to avoid a repeat of what happened two months ago.
