PREVIEW
Security agents are linked to wave of repression after national protests against tax hikes in the middle of the year
President William Ruto is under mounting pressure to halt a wave of abductions, mainly of youth activists since the nationwide Gen Z protests in June, which are widely blamed on state security officers (AC Vol 65 No 15, Ruto struggles to regain control).
Over Christmas, church leaders joined opposition politicians in demanding an end to the abductions. They said they resembled the tactics used by former President Daniel arap Moi. Many of the victims this year have since been reported dead or are still missing.
The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights reported on 27 December that 13 abductions had been recorded over the past three months, taking the total number since June to 82 (AC Vol 65 No 23, Facing calls for reform, the state hits back). Eight people have been reported missing over the past week. Relatives say that several individuals linked to political protest were bundled into unmarked cars by masked men.
State House has been silent but Douglas Kanja, the Inspector General of Police, denied all involvement or knowledge of the abductions in a statement on 27 December. That suggests either complicity or incompetence, say activists.
Kanja was hurriedly sworn in in November. His predecessor Gilbert Masengeli was given a six-month jail sentence for contempt of court for repeatedly refusing to testify on the whereabouts of three activists allegedly abducted by the police during the protests.
After he urged ‘online groupings, and the larger public to refrain from spreading false, fabricated, malicious, distasteful, misinformed and unverified information aimed at tarnishing the reputation and image of the government,’ Kanja has done little to restore confidence in police operations.
Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah, one of the politicians closest to the Gen Z movement, gave a press conference on 27 December demanding the resignation of Kanja and Mohamed Amin, who heads the Directorate of Criminal Investigations.
Orange Democratic Movement leader Raila Odinga, whose party has held five government ministries since the July reshuffle that was driven by the protests, described the abductions as ‘strange and primitive’ in his Christmas message (AC Vol 65 No 16, Raila names his price).
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