At least 82 people have been abducted since June, according to an official tally. But rights groups estimate the real number could be three times that.
In a crowded courtroom in Nairobi on Thursday, Kenya’s inspector general of police attempted to reassure a country gripped by fear amid an epidemic of abductions, mainly targeting government critics.
“I want to let the people of Kenya know that they are safe,” Douglas Kanja said in a trial brought by human rights groups against the National Police Service.
The case centers on three young men who were abducted in December and did not return to their families. Kanja was unable to provide any information to the court about what had happened to them, but said they were not in police custody.
Just minutes after Kanja’s testimony, the lawyer for the family of one of the abductees told reporters that the man’s body had been identified at the city mortuary. Justus Mutumwa, 33, had been found dead in a river the day after his disappearance.
“It’s quite hilarious that the police had already discovered a body and were doing investigations,” Faith Odhiambo, president of the Law Society of Kenya, said at a press conference outside the court. “All along they have denied that they know of the whereabouts of the three, that they have no idea.”
Later in the day, the body of a second abductee was also found at the mortuary.
The men are among at least 82 people who have been kidnapped since anti-government protests erupted in June. That’s the tally announced on December 26 by Kenya’s human rights commission, but the true number is likely far higher.
Ernest Cornel, a spokesperson for the commission, told OCCRP there are “more numbers than what has been released.”
“The actual number is almost three times the reported cases,” said Hussein Khalid, CEO of Vocal Africa, a Kenyan rights group that has been investigating abductions.
The disappearances appear to follow a similar pattern and target people who have been critical of the government, which suggests they are part of an organized operation that could be run by police, protestors and civil society groups say.
According to court testimony and interviews with victims, abductees are often kidnapped by three or four men in hoods, and bundled into a white car with fake number plates. Abductees have testified that they were told their abductors were from the “forces.”
Police have repeatedly denied their involvement. The chair of Kenya’s Independent Police Oversight Authority told journalists on Wednesday that his department cannot launch an investigation since the police have said that no officers are implicated in abductions.
There are at least three separate court cases ongoing in Kenya, which focus on abductions and include allegations against security forces.
In the northern city of Nakuru, the family of an abducted fisherman has brought a case against the Kenya Wildlife Service, an armed force with a mandate that includes combating poaching and the smuggling of ivory elephant tusks.
An officer said in an affidavit that Brian Odhiambo, 31, had been arrested for illegal fishing and had escaped. But Odhiambo has not been seen since he was arrested on January 18.
The third case is also being heard in a Nairobi court, and involves six abductees, including Bernard Kavuli, a vocal critic of the government who is active on social media.
Kavuli was abducted on December 22 by four masked men driving a white car. He was blindfolded, handcuffed, and told he was under arrest. He was taken to an undisclosed location, stripped, and chained to a wall.
During his interrogation, Kavuli was asked why he was “troubling the government,” according to court documents.
Kavuli was released two weeks later and warned not to speak out. He was told that if he was abducted again, he would never be returned. On Monday, he stayed away from the courthouse along with his fellow petitioners.
“I can’t say that I’m really safe,” he said over the phone. “None of us were in court and that speaks to our safety and our fear.”
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