Former LSK president castigates govt for failing to end abductions

Eric Theuri, the former president of the Law Society of Kenya, has stated that the abduction of citizens is part of an official government policy.

Speaking during a morning interview on a local television station on Tuesday, June 1, 2025, Theuri claimed that enforced disappearances are being carried out by a secretive unit operating outside the Directorate of Criminal Investigations.

“It is an official policy of this government to abduct Kenyans,” he said.

Theuri argued that this unit functions independently of the DCI.

“When the DCI says they don’t have someone, they’re telling the truth because an extrajudicial unit is operating independently,” the lawyer explained.

He also dismissed other explanations for the disappearances.

“The other alternative is to believe that these people are actually abducted by people from the space.”

He further criticised the government’s failure to investigate or stop the abductions despite its resources.

“Because a person who has all the resources of the state with power to investigate cannot come and tell us that all the resources that they have at their disposal have been unable so far to crack the issue of abductions,” he said.

Pattern of targeted abductions

Theuri pointed to a recurring pattern: the police initially deny holding missing persons, but once legal pressure is applied, through habeas corpus applications or summonses to the Inspector General and the DCI, some individuals are later released.

Referencing the early days of President William Ruto’s administration, Theuri recalled the disbandment of a controversial DCI unit and the removal of its former head, George Kinoti. However, he claimed the move may have simply replaced one problem with another.

“You might think that unit was disbanded for being inefficient, only to be replaced by a more lethal and effective one,” he said.

This comes a few days after KHRC Communications Lead Ernest Oduor stated that the government has only changed tactics, not behaviour.

“When Ruto came to power in 2022, he said he would disband the killer unit, the Special Service Unit (SSU), which had been accused of at least 500 cases of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings,” Oduor said during an on a local TV station, on Monday, June 23, 2025.

According to Theuri, recent abductions appear to target government critics and often take place in broad daylight.

“The common factor is that these people have castigated the government, even if their statements were reckless or criminal,” he said.

He concluded that the practice is part of a broader strategy to silence political dissent. Theuri’s statements have since stirred concern, with calls growing for the government to account for the safety and rights of all Kenyan citizens.