Former Makueni County Governor Kivutha Kibwana has questioned the motive behind the recent wave of abductions in the country.
Taking to his official X account on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, the politician-cum-activist sought to know why most of the abductees had been released without prosecution.
Kibwana further sought to know the motive behind the extrajudicial killings that were reported during the same period of abductions.
He argued that by admitting that the victims of abductions had been released and reunited with their families, President William Ruto had directly acknowledged young Kenyans were indeed abducted but later returned to their families.
“The president has acknowledged young Kenyans were indeed abducted but later returned to their families. So why were they abducted if they were released without prosecution? What about the lingering issue of those extrajudicially killed/still missing? What was their crime?” Kibwana stated.
Ruto’s remarks
President Ruto has claimed that all Kenyans that were abducted in the recent past have been all found and taken back to their homes and families.
Speaking on Monday, May 12, 2025, in a question-and-answer session during the Kenya-Finland joint media briefing at State House, Nairobi, Ruto said that his administration has an accountability mechanism to ensure that the issue is attended to.
The head of state further noted that he had undertaken to the country that Kenyans will not lose their lives through extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances.
Ruto also maintained that he has given clear and firm instructions that incidents of abductions don’t happen again.
”There is an accountability mechanism to make sure that that situation is attended to and a proper accountability mechanism is put in place. I undertook to the country that being a democracy and robustly so, Kenyans must not, as it has happened in the past, where Kenyans disappeared and their bodies found in all manner of places, and that that will not happen under my administration. All the people who disappeared or who were abducted have been brought back to their families and their homes, and I have given clear and firm instructions that that kind of nature will not happen again,” Ruto said.
Karua demands action
People’s Liberation Party Martha Karua has also called on Ruto to go beyond acknowledging the issue of abductions in Kenya and take action against security officers implicated in extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances.
Taking to her official X account on Monday night, May 12, 2025, Karua emphasised that while the president’s acknowledgement of abductions is an important first step, it must be followed by concrete measures to address the broader issue of state-sanctioned violence.
She urged Ruto to hold accountable those security officers who have not only been involved in abductions but also in extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances that have plagued the country for years.
“Now that @WilliamsRuto has acknowledged abductions, he needs to go further and acknowledge extrajudicial killings and disappearances and the role of security forces in this and take steps to have the culprits, including those captured in the #BBCDocumentary, held accountable. #JusticeForVictims, “she said.
