Popular social media activist Gabriel Oguda was reportedly abducted early in the morning on June 25, 2024.
Meanwhile, Kenyans online protested the increased police abductions of activists and protesters who had been vocal against the unpopular Finance Bill 2024.
Before Tuesday’s nationwide demonstrations against the proposed law, reports had emerged on social media that key figures in the youth-led peaceful protests had been arrested. As a result, their whereabouts remained unknown.
Among those taken was the vocal social media and political activist Gabriel Oguda, who was abducted.
Oguda’s brother, Zachary, posted online that the political activist had been taken from his house by men believed to be police officers.
“I can confirm that my brother has been taken by unknown gunmen from his house five minutes ago. #GabrielOguda. “ Zachary Oguda tweeted.
“Any tweets coming from @gabrieloguda were already scheduled. He isn’t safe,” Zachary added in a post some minutes past 4 a.m.
READ ALSO:KIMANI ICHUNG’WAH PRAISES GEN Z’S PEACEFUL PROTESTS.
Suspected Abductions of Prominent X Users Ahead of Protests
Other X users, including Drey Mwangi, TemperCR7, Harriet, Osama Otero, Franje, Worldsmith, and Hilla254, were suspected of being abducted in overnight operations just hours before the anti-Finance Bill demonstrations.
Officials said this was among the strategies being used to defuse the planned protests against the proposed taxes.
In what appeared to have been a coordinated roundup, Osama Otero tweeted about strangers being at his home at almost the same time as Oguda.
“Guys are outside where I am,” his last post, which has since gone viral.
Recent abductions of protesters in Nairobi
The latest cases add to other protesters who were captured over the weekend, such as Shadrak Kiprono, alias Shad Khalif, who was abducted on Saturday night in Nairobi’s South B area, and his whereabouts remain unclear.
In a statement on Tuesday morning, the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) condemned the abductions as a step backward. Furthermore, LSK President Faith Odhiambo promised that the organization would hold accountable those responsible for the abductions.
“Over the last 72 hours, Kenya has been drawn back to the dark era of a rogue, irrational police force operating through repressive, retrogressive, clandestine, illegal, extra-judicial tactics to forcefully quell public dissent against misgivings of government, lapses in governance, and more specifically, the contentious Finance Bill 2024,” Odhiambo said.
“We will unmask and take action against these rogue criminal elements, putting our police in ruin.”
Some protesters were released before Tuesday after a public uproar; Dr. Austin Omondi, alias Ja Prado, was released on Sunday night.
On Monday, the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) similarly condemned the abductions and called for an immediate halt to this trend.
“The abductions, often occurring at night and carried out by police officers in plain clothes and unmarked vehicles, aim to intimidate protesters planning to participate in future peaceful demonstrations, urging MPs to reject the bill,” KHRC said.