The apparent return of enforced disappearances in recent days has rekindled fears of a renewed wave of state repression, with families of missing Kenyans demanding the immediate release of their loved ones, whom they believe were abducted for criticising the government.
At least four people have disappeared within the past week in different parts of Nairobi, with those who last saw them saying they were picked up by unknown men.
The disappearances have cast a shadow over the aftermath of the June 25 commemoration, reviving memories of past crackdowns on dissent and deepening concerns among rights groups and families that enforced disappearances may once again be used to silence government critics.
On Sunday, the families of some of the missing individuals spoke about their agony even as they clung to hope that their loved ones would be found. Their search across police stations, hospitals and mortuaries has so far yielded no answers.
Davies Lichuma went to the streets on June 25 and never returned home after the demonstration marking the second anniversary of the 2024 Gen Z uprising. His mother, Margaret Lichuma, recalled urging her son not to join the demonstrations because of earlier reports of police brutality and abductions.
Davies Lichuma during anti-finance bill demonstrations on Moi Avenue, Nairobi on June 18, 2024.
Photo credit: Sila Kiplagat | Nation Media Group
“I went to Central Police Station to report the case after being told at Pangani Police Station that those who were arrested during the demonstrations had been taken to Central. But until now, I don’t know where my son, Lichuma, is. I saw that those arrested that day were dumped in a forest after being beaten, but I have not seen my son,” the distraught mother said.
She is still mourning the death of her daughter, who is yet to be buried, and now her son’s disappearance has only deepened the family’s anguish.
Mr Lichuma, according to Mukuru Community Justice Centre, has long stood on the front line defending the rights of doctors, interns and ordinary Kenyans.
“His courage in fighting for justice deserves recognition, not enforced disappearance,” the centre posted on X while calling on the police to disclose his whereabouts and ensure his safety.
Mr Lichuma’s family is among several now trapped in agonising uncertainty, forced to endure days of unanswered questions, fruitless searches and mounting fear.
Steven Mugo Miano and Beatrice Wanjira, the parents of Macmillan Kiarie, said their son has been missing since June 20 after he was allegedly abducted by unknown individuals.
“The CCTV footage shows that when he left his house at around 9am on Saturday, there was a vehicle without a number plate parked outside the apartment. He was ambushed and forced into the vehicle, which sped off. We don’t know where he was taken thereafter,” Ms Wanjira said.
According to his parents, Mr Kiarie has been outspoken and active in community work in Mathare, and they believe this may have been the reason behind his abduction.
“We have been going to the police station, but the officers have been taking us in circles, saying they must first have Kiarie’s phone in order to investigate the people he had been in contact with,” his mother said, despite informing them that the phone went off shortly after he disappeared.
A day earlier, on June 19, Michael Oloo, according to his close friend Francis Ouma, was abducted from a barber shop in Umoja I.
Michael Oloo Osura who went missing at Umoja in Nairobi on June 19,2026.
Photo credit: Evans Habil | Nation Media Group
Mr Ouma said witnesses reported that Oloo was beaten and bundled into a vehicle that sped off. That was the last time he was seen, and since then, nothing has been known about his whereabouts.
“We’ve looked for him everywhere, including hospitals, mortuaries and police stations, but we haven’t found him,” Mr Ouma told the Nation . Then there is Abdulaziz Duba Molu, better known as Zizou. According to his brother, Ramadhan Duba Molu, he went missing on June 23 in Juja Farm and has not been seen since.
“He left Kiamaiko for Juja, where he had bought a piece of land. On the way back home with friends, two vehicles intercepted them, and they were ordered to lie down,” Mr Duba said, referring to uniformed police officers and others in plain clothes who were armed with guns. “They asked who Abdulaziz was among them and took him, leaving the rest behind,” Mr Duba added.
Abdulaziz Duba Molu who went missing on June 23,2026.
Photo credit: Pool
Mr Duba said the family is worried about his continued absence, especially after searching for him in several police stations and hospitals without success.
Following the continued cases of enforced disappearances and alleged police abductions, lobby groups, including Mathare Social Justice Centre and Vocal Africa, announced that they would hold nationwide protests on June 30 to demand the release of those still missing.
“We know that these people have been abducted by the police, and we will not hide the fact that this country has a rogue police service that thinks it is above the law. We are telling the police that Kenya is not a police state and you cannot carry out your operations outside the law,” Vocal Africa chief executive officer Hussein Khalid said, adding that the police had continued to conceal their identities during demonstrations, contrary to a court ruling.
Five activists who were reported missing after being arrested during last Thursday’s Gen Z anniversary protests resurfaced with injuries over the weekend. They said they were tortured and dumped in different parts of Nairobi.
Frederick Odhiambo Ojiro, Michael Ngige alias Jomo Kenyatta Junior, Muteti Mulinge, Collins Otieno and Elijah Alam were all arrested around Parliament on June 25 before they disappeared, prompting human rights groups and fellow protesters to demand that police account for their whereabouts.
On the morning of June 25, Otieno, 19, escaped an apparent abduction as he left home to join the June 25 commemoration march.
Someone tapped him on the shoulder and, before he could react, the men attempted to seize him. He escaped, leaving behind his phone and hoodie. Later that day, however, he was arrested near Parliament alongside other activists. He said he ended up in the hands of abductors, who tortured him for hours before dumping him in the early hours of Saturday, June 27.
Speaking from his hospital bed, Mr Otieno said they were bundled into Subaru vehicles immediately after their arrest, blindfolded and driven for hours to an unknown location, where they were allegedly tortured during interrogation.
“After we were arrested at Parliament, we were bundled into a Subaru vehicle. We were blindfolded and taken to an unknown location where we were tortured,” he said.
“They kept asking us who was funding us,” he said, adding that they remained blindfolded until about 1am on Saturday, when they were driven away and abandoned along Lang’ata Road.
The five activists later resurfaced separately, each bearing injuries they said resulted from torture.
“What we are witnessing is a continuation of what has been happening. Enforced disappearances and arbitrary arrests have never stopped,” said Kenya Human Rights Commission official Cornel Ernest.
“It’s only that this time we’ve been fortunate enough to capture the enforced disappearances and arbitrary arrests on camera,” Mr Ernest said, adding that there are instances where people disappear but “you can’t have a campaign to have them returned because their disappearance was not witnessed.”
Former Chief Justice David Maraga said: “The issue is we have a government which does not listen to its people... we have a government which does not respect the Constitution at all.” Referring to the abductions and the resulting deaths, Mr Maraga said: “Kenyans are not going to keep quiet, and we will stand in solidarity with these families and amplify their cases.”
Beatrice Wanjira, mother to a missing Macmillan Kiarie (left), former Chief Justice David Maraga and Margaret Lichuma, mother of Missing Davies Lichuma address journalists in Mathare on June 28,2026.
Photo credit: Evans Habil | Nation Media Group
Since 2024, according to Mr Maraga, more than 75 people, excluding those allegedly abducted in the past week, have disappeared and remain unaccounted for.
“Give these people justice. Compensation is not going to bring back lives,” Mr Maraga said.
“I will on Monday meet those who were tortured,” Wiper Patriotic Front party leader Kalonzo Musyoka said on Sunday while criticising Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen for focusing on attacking opposition leaders.
In a statement on Sunday, the National Police Service said it had taken note of allegations of enforced disappearances and torture circulating in mainstream and social media, urging anyone with information or specific complaints to report them at the nearest police station for investigation.
The service also confirmed receiving a missing persons report for Davis Lichuma at Nairobi’s Central Police Station and pledged to investigate all such cases thoroughly, professionally, impartially and expeditiously in accordance with the law.
