Pressure mounts on President Ruto to act as new abductions reported

Independent Policing Oversight Authority boss Isaac Hassan and Anglican Church leader Jackson Ole Sapit on Christmas Day piled pressure on President William Ruto's government to curb rising cases of abductions.

The duo echoed an earlier statement by Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader Raila Odinga, who urged President Ruto to address the new trend of young men and women being abducted in broad daylight and missing for days without their families being told where they are being held, for what and by whom. 

This comes after a Christmas Day spike in abductions with 
eight new cases reported in the last four days.

Among the abductions reported almost daily, the family of cartoonist Kibet Bull, whose real name is Gideon Kibet, was reportedly abducted along with his brother on Christmas Day.

The cartoonist, a student at Egerton University in Nakuru, is famous for his graphics, which some interpret as silhouettes of those in power. 

Speaking to the media, his sister, Ms Mercy Cherotich, also revealed that Kibet had disappeared along with his brother, Mr Rony Kiplang'at.

She said the incident happened on Saturday, December 21.

"We thought Mr Kiplang'at had gone to church, he is a Seventh-day Adventist. We waited until evening. We were alarmed because it was not his nature to be out past midnight. His phone was off," said Ms Cherotich.

Ms Cherotich said Mr Kiplang'at was reportedly abducted in Kikuyu constituency in Kiambu County and his brother travelled from Njoro constituency in Nakuru County to follow up.

"Mr Kibet travelled on Tuesday, December 24 to follow up on his brother's case. He did not reach Kikuyu. As of 9pm on Tuesday, Kibet could not be reached by phone. We wanted him to confirm whether our other brother had been found," she said.

She said the matter had since been reported to Kikuyu police station, where Kiambu County police boss Mr Michael Muchiri said the matter was being investigated.

"We will investigate the two incidents and assign detectives to help us make an official report," he said.

Earlier on Christmas Day, reports emerged that 20-year-old Naomi had been abducted in the Ruaka area of Kiambu County.

According to her family spokesperson, Mr Kioria Gathogo, Naomi was abducted by hooded men and bundled into an unmarked car.

Her social media accounts had been linked to the sharing of artificially generated images of selected people in coffins. 

Ms Flora Mutindi also issued an appeal on Christmas Day, copied to security officials and Machakos Governor Wavinya Ndeti, regarding the abduction of her brother, Steve Kavingo Mbisi.

"Ladies and gentlemen, help me find my little brother who was abducted from his home on Tuesday...in Mlolongo Kathangaita by two masked men and we do not know his whereabouts, we have searched for him at the nearest police stations to no avail," she said.

"The IPOA is concerned about the increasing cases of abductions of various people allegedly by members of the National Police Service (NPS). This is after reports of the abductions appeared in the mainstream and social media," Hassan said.

In a press statement, the IPOA executive said the worrying trend should stop and those found culpable should be brought to justice. 

Rapid Response Teams have since been dispatched to the areas where the incidents occurred, Mr Hassan added, with instructions to gather all information that may be relevant to unravel the circumstances of the abductions and whether there was police involvement, as has been widely alleged.

In his Christmas Day message, Archbishop Sapit urged President Ruto's government to take the country back to the forgotten days of ruthless crackdowns on dissent. 

"Abductions cannot be accepted as a way of silencing dissent. This is a country of fair justice under the rule of law... we cannot have abductions as a way of life," he said.

Presidential hopeful and Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah on Christmas Day called on President William Ruto's government to stop the primitiveness of abductions.

He urged the Inspector General of Police, Mr Douglas Kanja, to take urgent steps to stop the worrying trend of abductions across the country.

This comes after ODM leader Raila Odinga had earlier called for a total stop to the use of abductions as a tool of governance to deal with dissent against the state.

Mr Odinga's stance came a day after ousted Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua called on President William Ruto to issue an executive order demanding an end to abductions.

"Mr President, please... you swore to defend the constitution and be the overall guardian of the security of Kenyans. It is painful to hear your government denying that they are abducting people when the evidence is everywhere. Make a Christmas order that all the abducted people who are lucky to be alive are released," Mr Gachagua exclusively told Nation.Africa.

Mr Gachagua said, "Since the President in his speech on June 26, 2024, dismissed the Gen Z protests that started a day earlier as the work of treasonous criminals who will be prosecuted, these abductions have started".

He added that senior government officials, including cabinet secretaries, had publicly threatened the youth with abductions, "so our assumption that the government is behind the abductions is not far-fetched".

Media personality Mr Larry Madowo had also lamented on Christmas Day that "for the fourth day in a row, I have asked the Kenyan police where three young men who were 'abducted' over the weekend are. No answer".

He cited the families of Billy Mwangi, Peter Muteti and Bernard Kavuli, whose parents have since issued a public appeal for the immediate release of their children from their abductors.

"It is a chilling reminder of a dark history where people have disappeared, sometimes forever, tortured or killed for opposing the government," said Mr Madowo.
 

This came as most Gen Z influencers reported deactivating their social media platforms in fear of the ongoing wave of abductions.

"We are worried. We have been reliably informed by friendly Gen Z security officers that there is spyware being used to track kidnap targets," said one of them, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of falling victim to the ongoing clandestine kidnappings.

 
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