Former Chief Justice David Maraga has issued a scathing rebuke of the Kenya Kwanza administration, accusing top state security officials of orchestrating and covering up abductions, arbitrary arrests, and harassment of human rights defenders in the wake of the June 25 anti-government protests.
In a sharply worded statement released by his presidential campaign secretariat on Tuesday, June 1, 2025, Maraga singled out Mohammed Amin, the Director of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), over the disappearance of activist Ndiang’ui Kinyagia.
Maraga dismissed the state’s growing trend of implausible explanations for enforced disappearances, referencing the earlier case of Albert Ojwang, where police claimed he “hit his head on the police cell wall.” He called it a “tall tale” that has become emblematic of official cover-ups.
“Mr. Amin has taken Kenyans through another ‘he hit his head on the police cell wall’ tale, just like in the case of Albert Ojwang,” he said. Maraga was addressing the abduction of Ndiang’ui Kinyagia, who disappeared on the afternoon of 21 June 2025 in Kinoo, Kiambu County, after plainclothes officers reportedly visited his home.
According to Maraga, the disappearance bears the now-familiar hallmarks of state-sanctioned abductions: unmarked Subaru vehicles, plainclothes officers, a media blackout, and police denial. “These actions threaten the security of Kenyans as guaranteed under Article 29 of our Constitution,” Maraga said.
Police under fire
Justice Chacha Mwita has already directed the DCI to produce Kinyagia, who had reportedly been listed as a “person of interest.” But Maraga insists this is not enough. “IG Koome and DCI Director Amin must vacate office immediately,” he demanded, citing their year-long failure to end the abductions.
President William Ruto has previously denied state involvement in forced disappearances. On 12 May 2025, while hosting Finland’s president, Ruto claimed, “All abducted persons had been… returned to their families, and I have given clarity and firm instructions that nothing of that nature will happen again.”
Maraga has now called out the president directly: “I reiterate my call for President Ruto and his administration to stop lying to Kenyans.”
Intimidation of activists
The former Chief Justice also condemned the arrest of prominent human rights defenders, including John Nzau, Mark Miani, Francis Mwangi, and Davis Tafari, demanding all “trumped-up charges” be dropped immediately.
“This government should forthwith stop intimidating and harassing human rights defenders,” he said, reaffirming his campaign’s commitment to constitutional ideals: dignity, protection of life, and justice.
As public pressure mounts, Maraga’s rallying cry echoes louder: “We must have the courage to pursue those ideals against the forces of a regime that has gone rogue.
