Dissident Abductions in Kenya Is Bid to Mute Critics, Group Says
(Bloomberg) -- Kenyan human rights activists said at least seven critics of the government have been snatched in the last 10 days, in an ongoing campaign of abductions they claimed was designed to stifle dissent.
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The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights said in a statement on X that 82 people had been taken since June – when deadly protests erupted against the administration of President William Ruto – and that 29 were still missing.
“Those abducted have been vocal dissidents, particularly on social platforms,” KNCHR said. “If these patterns of abductions continue, then we shall be rapidly retrogressing back to the dark days of our history when such attacks were primarily to inflict fear on any person critical of the government.”
Inspector General Douglas Kanja said the National Police Service was not involved. “There is no police station in the country that is holding the reported abductees,” he said in a statement on Thursday.
At least 60 people died in clashes with security forces during the protests, which were sparked by anger over tax increases as well as alleged corruption by government officials, and discontent continues to swirl actively on social media.
One of the victims, a 24-year-old man, was grabbed by four armed men in a barber shop on Saturday. At least one of the incidents has been caught on close circuit television.
The country’s courts issued a separate statement on X urging the security forces to respect the law and safeguard human rights.
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