Former CJ Maraga calls for immediate release of all abductees

Former Chief Justice David Maraga has condemned the rising cases of abduction and called for the immediate release of all youth being held unlawfully.

Justice (retired) Maraga on Monday said the illegal acts of killing and torturing defenders of the Constitution had put to serious strain on the country’s institutions. 

“It demands a moral response. If we are truly a people sworn to the sanctity of life and the dignity of every citizen, then we must stand bold on the truth our Constitution. I condemn the killing, torture and the abductions,” the retired CJ said in a statement.

The former CJ said when Kenyans voted overwhelmingly for a new Constitution in August 2010, they laid down a fundamentally new vision for transforming the country and nation. 

Maraga added that it was the vision that was at the heart of the June-July national protests dubbed Gen Z. 

“I was the desire of Kenyans from all walks of life to take charged of our collective destiny. It was a desire to address the culture of impunity and confront the outright callousness and unresponsive attitudes to genuine issues of public concern,” he said. 

His call came on the day human rights defenders called for street demos across the country to protest against abduction of government critics by individuals suspected to be rogue police.

Justice (Retired) Maraga said the cries of pain and outrage experience this year was sparked by erosion of basic dignity and economic mismanagement. He said politics must never again be heartless and uncaring. 

In his New Year message to Kenyans, the retired judge said the country must urgently address the decline in vital sectors such as education and health. 

“We must reset the economy to create decent jobs for our youth and restructure our tax regime in order to guarantee fairness and sustainability of the tax burden,” he said. 

The retired CJ urged Kenyans to determine that 2025 as the year that the values of good governance, ethics and standards of excellence as the country’s guiding light. 

“It must also be the year of accountability for those who caused pain to Kenyans in 2024. This must be the year that we stand firmly for constitutionalism, the rule of law and justice. Let us always remember our collective destiny and safeguard it,” he said. 

The former CJ said the responsibility of ensuring that instruments of power are not abused lies with office bearers.

“We have seen Kenyans actively take charge and hold our public institutions and lead the way in demanding accountability as enshrined in the constitution, even as they faced the brute force of a regime’s push-back,” he said.

As of now, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights records show that 82 abduction cases have been recorded since June, with 29 people still missing. Seven of these cases were reported in the last two weeks alone.

In June this year, anti-government protests, majorly coordinated by the youth, erupted in response to proposed tax hikes in the Finance Bill 2024, resulting in the death of at least 61 people as reported by a consortium of several human rights organisations, including Amnesty International.  

Thus far, no single police officer involved in the cases of extrajudicial killings, abductions or use of excessive force during the protests has been charged, a fact that has angered many Kenyans who have been demanding for action. 

Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) boss, Issack Hassan issued a press statement last week saying the authority is “concerned about the increasing cases of abductions of various people allegedly by members of the National Police Service”. 

Mr Hassan called for an end to this worrying trend and told Kenyans that all officers found culpable should be brought to justice. 

He also revealed that rapid response teams had been deployed to areas where the incidents of abductions have occurred to gather intel on circumstances of the abductions and establish if there was police involvement as widely alleged. 

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