Three men abducted in Kitengela and held in captivity for 32 days by unknown gunmen endured torture including being whipped with electric cables and waterboarding.
Nation also obtained photographs showing marks on the bodies of two brothers - Mr Jamil Longton and brother Aslam Longton as well as Mr Bob Njagi attributed to the torture.
The three men, who were kidnapped on August 19, 2024, and released on the night of Friday, September 20, 2024, were warned by their captors that they would be killed if they ever revealed their ordeal.
Nation learnt of their torture through multiple interviews with relatives, friends, lawyers and human rights activists who have interacted with the three since their release.
Our sources said the abductors whipped the three using electric cables, squeezed their private parts, kicked and slapped them as well as water boarded them.
Water boarding is a form of torture, typically used as an interrogation technique, in which a person is strapped head-down on a sloping board with the mouth and nose covered while water is poured over their face. This causes them to experience a sensation similar to that of drowning.
“They were seriously tortured and as we talk they are frail. They have torture marks on their legs and also the back,” said Mr Kamanda Mucheke, the deputy Director at the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR).
Mr Mucheke said the three were however improving, although he noted at first they were not willing to share their predicament.
“The two brothers remained in cold cells for the entire period except during interrogation and the few times they went out to drain their overflowing excrement,” he said.
According to Mr Mucheke, the three were also not allowed to bask in the sun.
Two days after their release, Mr Njagi and his family held a thanksgiving service in church.
“He went to church and was later taken back home. On that Sunday, he was accompanied by his father,” a relative told Nation.
“He is mentally tortured. His abductors seemingly exposed him to mental anguish that has left him distracted. We are hopeful that he will recover,” said the relative, who added that Mr Njagi was not in a position to address the media.
The Nation is in possession of images which depict marks on Mr Njagi’s body that are reported as a result of the torture. The photos were taken three days after his release. His right leg has several black marks.
A relative said when he was released near a tea plantation in Limuru, Kiambu County, he was given Sh300 and told to head home.
The activist was grabbed from a Public Service Vehicle (PSV) as he headed to Kitengela from Nairobi by his captors.
The men who abducted the former leader of Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Youth League were dressed in hoods and wore masks making it hard to identify them.
As they forcefully pulled him out of the vehicle, the men claimed that Mr Njagi was a wanted armed robber, according to video footage that captured the incident. But some passengers protested he was innocent.
Mr Aslam and Mr Jamil also have marks on their bodies that are attributed to their harrowing ordeal in captivity.
Last Friday, Mr Jamil told the Nation that he could not tell the place they had been detained.
The two brothers were seized as they headed to a party in Kajiado town and taken away by their abductors.
The three men went missing a day after hosting a space meeting on X, where they discussed the state of affairs in the country.
Prior to the session on X, Mr Njagi, Mr Aslam and Ms Melisa Lone Kirisua had written a letter to the Officer Commanding Station (OCS) Kitegela Police Station informing the police of their plans to hold demonstrations on Thursday, August 22.
Mr Jamil had told the Nation that they were held in a room which had more people who informed them that they had been locked up there for more than 90 days.
“The abductors were not friendly but could at least share water and a meal with us,” said Mr Jamil.
Ms Salwa Mohamed, the wife of Mr Jamil, who is also pregnant, said she had been distressed for the period her husband was missing.
“When you called me at night I was in hospital, I was not feeling well,” Ms Salwa told the Nation on the morning of Friday, September 20, 2024.
Mr Mucheke said he believes the three men were held by police officers. He explained that the three said that people who held them for days were in possession of handcuffs and radio calls.
They were released on the day a deadline imposed by the courts to acting Inspector General of Police Gilbert Masengeli to reveal their whereabouts was due to lapse. Mr Masengeli told the court the three were never in police custody.
Earlier on the day Mr Douglas Kanja was sworn into office as the Inspector General of Police. Similarly, he dismissed claims that the three had been abducted by police officers.
"I have just taken over but what I can tell you is that we don't have the 'Kitengela 3' with us. A report was made and we have an active investigation. We are also urging the people of Kenya with any information (on the same) to come forward," said Mr Kanja.
Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) boss Amin Mohamed also said numerous complaints regarding abductions have been made.
"It is unfortunate that we have received a lot of complaints regarding abductions. The NPS is not involved in any case of abductions. Our duty and responsibility is to make sure that whoever is involved in abductions is apprehended and taken to court and to ensure the abductees are safe and we bring them back alive," he said.
Mr Mucheke asked Kenyans not to allow people to be abducted while they are watching and instead should demand that the abductors identify themselves.
“I want to ask members of the public that when they see someone being abducted, brutalised and molested by concealed and hooded people, they should demand that they identify themselves before they take the person away,” he said.
Mr Mucheke said it would be important if people made noise and insisted that the person be let free or join them at a nearby police station. He added it was important to also record the events of such abductions as they happen.
