From left: Longton Jamil, his younger brother Aslam Longton and activist Bob Njagi who had been reported missing.
Two Kitengela brothers abducted on August 19 were subjected to physical and psychological torture, irregular meals and interrogation about their activities and a planned anti-government protest by people whose conduct appeared to be that of security officers, Nation.Africa has established.
Multiple interviews with the abductees, their family, and lawyers who had spoken to them after they were found alive on Friday, September 20, revealed how the duo was shaken after being abducted, blindfolded and driven to a room whose location they could not tell, their phones confiscated and scrutinised, before being dumped at Red Hill Road and their gadgets thrown at them.
Jamil and Aslam Longton brothers, aged 42 and 36, respectively, were held alongside activist Bob Njagi who was seized separately.
Nation was on Friday not able to access Mr Njagi, who was also found alive but spoke to lawyers representing him and the two brothers.
Mr Jamil told Nation.Africa in an exclusive interview that the abductors seized them as they headed to a party, and held them incommunicado for 32 days he described as a torturous time for him.
“We were held in a room with more people who said they had spent more than 90 days there. The abductors were not friendly but could at least share water and a meal with us,” said Mr Jamil.
Ever since the abduction 32 days ago, Ms Salwa Mohamed, the pregnant wife of Mr Jamil has been in distress and was even admitted to hospital at the time her husband was being released.
The abducted siblings’ other brother Razak Longton told Nation.Africa that the family was assessing the health of the duo before making known their next steps.
Traumatised and frail
The Law Society of Kenya (LSK), which had filed a case to compel the State to produce the two brothers and Mr Njagi whether dead or alive, on Friday said their clients were held in what they assessed as a “safe house” and that they appeared to be “traumatised and frail.”
“They say the modus operandi of the people who abducted them clearly showed that they are police officers,” LSK Vice President Mwaura Kabata told Nation.Africa.
Mr Kabata added that the two brothers said those who abducted them were even in possession of handcuffs.
Mr Mwaura said that LSK is not going to abandon their petition, even after the three were found alive.
This was echoed by LSK Council Member Hoseah Manwa who said that they would still demand the release of those who were held alongside the two brothers.
“We also want to know the identity of the other people held inside that house alongside the two brothers. They as well should be released because it seems they are held incommunicado against their rights,” said Mr Manwa.
Led by former LSK President Nelson Havi, the lawyers’ body had lined up a big team in court including, lawyers Levi Munyeri, Bernard Atancha, and Hosea Manwa.
LSK President Faith Odhiambo had first broken the news of the trio being found alive on Friday.
In court, where Justice Lawrence Mugambi vacated his earlier six-month imprisonment of Deputy Inspector General of Police Gilbert Masengeli, the LSK team succeeded to have an order for the formation of a three-judge Bench to hear the case.
"This matter is of great public interest and the petition raises substantial issues of law that require to be heard by an expanded bench. I therefore refer the matter to Chief Justice 'to appoint judges to hear excluding me," Justice Mugambi ruled.
Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja and Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) boss Mohamed Amin released a statement on Thursday, September 19, that the police were not holding the three, and even asked Kenyans to provide information on the victims and other Kenyans suspected of being abducted.
Other relatives of the victims, who requested to remain anonymous in order to freely discuss the state of the two brothers, revealed that there were marks of physical torture on the abductees.
The relative said the duo had revealed that in their first six days of detention, the two brothers had been held together before being separated.
“They claimed they had irregular meals, and that the food was little, and that they would also be given only a 30 ml bottle of water on a daily basis,” the source said.
The trio were questioned about their involvement in the anti-government protests that first erupted in June and who was funding them.
“There were many of them in that holding place, though in different areas, most were visibly of Somali origin, they claim to have one day heard blasts from fireworks from the neighbourhood, tracing where those blasts happened within the past few days could indicate the general area of their detention,” the relative said.
According to sources, the brothers claim to have been dropped off late at night along Red Hill Road and their phones handed to them though they (phones) were out of power.
“They walked along the road until they spotted some lights from a compound where they knocked on the gate, security guards came out of the gate and the brothers narrated their ordeal, requesting to be assisted with a type c charger and a place to power their phones,” the relative narrated.
“The security guards did not have a charger so they called the owner of the home they were guarding, a man of Indian descent, who after hearing their story, showed them where to charge their phone and offered them some tea. It is then that they called their other brother who went to collect them from there,” the source went on.
The people who picked Mr Bob Njagi from inside a Public Service Vehicle (PSV) even had an altercation with the travellers and even took away a phone from one of them who used her camera to capture the events as they unleashed.
In an amateur video seen by the Nation, the abductors loudly shouted as they claimed that Mr Njagi was a wanted robber who was even in possession of a firearm.
However, some of the travellers differed with the version of the abductors who were in facemasks saying that he was just a leader of the protests.
Just like in Mr Jamil’s case, Mr Njagi was abducted and went missing. He remained incommunicado with his distressed family asking for his release and LSK moving to court.
The matter of the abduction of the two brothers was reported at Kitengela Police Station and recorded under Occurrence Book (OB) number 107/19/8/2024.
Virtual meeting
When the three were abducted, it emerged that they had been picked just a day after hosting a virtual meeting on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) where they discussed the current state of affairs in the country. The other host was Mr Gideon Muli.
Their discussion on X Space was also on matters of devolution ever since it kicked off in 2013.
A day before the meeting took place, Mr Njagi, Mr Aslam and Mr Melisa Lone Kirisua had written a letter to the Officer Commanding Station (OCS) Kitengela Police Station informing him of their plans to hold demonstrations that were to take place on Tuesday, August 20.
In the letter, they said that the demonstrations would also take place on Thursday, August 22.
They also requested for security and indicated specific areas where the demonstrations would take place. These included Namanga Road, Prisons Road, Deliverance Road, Miriam’s Road, Tropicana Road, Baraka Road, Market Road and Viwanda Road.
In addition, they said that the demonstrations would take place from 6 am to 5 pm.
“We hereby serve you this notice and humbly request that you provide us with security during the exercise. We shall observe and maintain law and order,” the letter further reads.
