A middle-aged man was on Monday evening forcibly taken by individuals and bundled into a car along Nairobi’s Moi Avenue in an incident that mirrored numerous State-sponsored abductions witnessed since June.
Dressed in a grey suit, the man was walking towards Imenti House, from the Jevanjee Gardens direction.
A few metres from Imenti House, two men seemingly appeared from nowhere and grabbed him without identifying themselves. They were accompanied by a woman and a driver who sat inside a grey Volkswagen SUV.
The man’s screams for help did not elicit any intervention from onlookers, with only a few people resorting to taking videos of the incident using their phones.
As he struggled to get out of his abductors’ grip, the man tried to hand his phone to a boda boda rider. But the abductors quickly intercepted his move and grabbed the phone.
“He had handed me his phone to call his wife but the men took it away from me…they told me they were police officers,” Kevin Kamau, the boda boda rider, told Nation.
The Volkswagen vehicle then sped off towards Jevanjee Gardens.
Mr Caleb Onyango, another boda boda rider who witnessed the incident, said the man was walking along the busy road highway as he headed towards Imenti House.
“He appeared to be a person on his way home from work. However, none of us that saw it knew him,” Mr Onyango said.
When reached by Nation, Law Society of Kenya (LSK) council member Hosea Manwa said the lobby group is open to helping the man’s family in tracing him and seeking his release.
“If at all there is any family missing a relative since Monday, they should reach out to us and we shall provide legal assistance,” he said.
Trail of abductions
Since mid-June, a number of people have been abducted by people believed to be police officers and are held incommunicado.
President William Ruto has, however, maintained that there have been no State-sponsored abductions in the Kenya Kwanza era.
The Kenya National Human Rights Commission (KNCHR) recently condemned the statements by the Head of State denying any knowledge of police abductions.
KNCHR has recorded 66 cases of people who went missing, with most being linked to the Gen Z protests.
Three activists based in Kitengela, Kajiado County, and who were abducted on August 9 are still missing.
Jamil Longton Hashim, his brother Aslam Longton, and activist Bob Michemi Njagi were abducted on their way to a party in Isinya, Kajiado County.
From left: Longton Jamil, his younger brother Aslam Longton and activist Bob Njagi who have been reported missing.
Photo credit: Pool
They were abducted on Monday, August 9, 2024.
Acting Inspector-General of Police Gilbert Masengeli has since been found in contempt of court for failing to appear in court to explain their whereabouts.
Mr Masengeli is to be sentenced on Friday.
