Abductors' playground: Violent arrests rock Kenya as courts summon Amin

A deepening crisis of abductions and enforced disappearances, and violent arrests is shaking the justice system and tarnishing its global reputation, as families, lawyers, and rights groups accuse the country’s top investigative agency of complicity, defiance of court orders, and flagrant abuse of power.

At the centre of the storm is the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and its boss, Mohamed Amin, who faces mounting legal petitions, public outrage, and accusations that his agency is not only failing to stop the wave of kidnappings and macabre arrests but actively orchestrating them.

Despite repeated denials from the DCI, political leaders and civil society organisations say the problem is spiralling. Victims include government critics, social media users, protesters, and even foreigners living in Kenya. Many are seized in broad daylight by masked or plainclothes men, forced into unmarked vehicles, held incommunicado, and tortured — if they ever reappear at all.

In one particularly stark rebuke this week, Justice Chacha Mwita issued a blunt order to the Inspector General of Police, Douglas Kanja, and DCI Director Mohamed Amin to produce missing blogger Ndiang’ui Kinyagia “dead or alive.” The judge dismissed police claims that people could simply vanish without a trace.

“We are not interested in drama or anything; we have a human being missing,” Justice Mwita said. “The responsibility is now on me; they are looking to this court to get this person alive or dead.”

The judge ordered Amin to present himself before the court today.

The case is just one of dozens piling up in Kenya’s courts as families turn to the judiciary in a desperate search for answers. Civil society groups and lawyers involved in these petitions say at least 82 people have been abducted in the last six months alone — many of them young protesters, activists, and online critics of President William Ruto’s government.

Among the latest to be abducted are Ndiangui Kinyagia, who has been missing for 14 days.

Former Deputy President's Party officials, Wanjiku Thiga said to be the national youth leader, was violently arrested at Kamaki's along Eastern Bypass. The macabre nature of the arrest caused earlier reports to indicate an abduction. Leaders associated with DCP, however, later said she had been arrested and was being held at Ruiru police station.

Wanjiku's political colleague, Kiambu DCP coordinator Peter Kinyanjui alias Kawanjiru, was arrested the same way, without a court order and violently, a week after political analyst Mutahi Ngunyi acknowledged another violent arrest of his associates, Kevin Mwangi and Paul Ngari. The manner of the arrests caused talk of fresh abductions at a time when the country was still reeling from the death of Albert Ojwang at Central Police Station- Nairobi. The teacher and blogger remains the latest victim to lose his life in the ongoing bloody operations of the police.

“Before they killed my son (Ojwang), they should have asked him if he had siblings,” her mother   Eucabeth Ojwang said, yesterday at his funeral service in Nairobi  “I struggled through thick and thin to educate my son throughout his university studies. I had high hopes that he would transform our family. Today, I am a heartbroken mother. My only child is gone!”

John Mulingwa Nzau (Activist), Mark Amiani (Activist), and Mutunge Mwangi (Activists), being held at Muthaiga police station, are among the hundreds of police officers being held beyond the 24 hours stipulated in the laws.

Some victims have been released after days or weeks in custody, often showing clear signs of torture and severe psychological trauma. Others have been killed, while many simply never come back. Lucky ones have had their relatives track them to police stations. 

According to KNCHR data, of the 82 abductions reported since June 2024, at least 29 victims are missing. The spike coincided with last year’s youth-led protests against steep tax hikes and government corruption. Demonstrations often turned violent, with security forces accused of brutal crackdowns.

Former Chief Justice David Maraga has urged the arrest of Inspector General Douglas Kanja, DCI Director Mohammed Amin, and Deputy Inspector General Eliud Lagat over a “cover-up” in Albert Ojwang’s death.

At a Nairobi press conference, Maraga accused the two of lying under oath about Ojwang’s death in custody, warning it was eroding public trust.

“It is now clear that the IG, DCI, Lagat, and many other leaders blatantly lied under oath about the brutal killing of Ojwang, contradicting police statements which falsely claimed that he hit himself on the head,” Maraga claimed.

Among the earlier abductees was satirical cartoonist Gideon Kibet. Known for his biting caricatures of the president on social media, Kibet was seized by plainclothes men in broad daylight. He was held for days without charge and released as a shaken, silent shell of his former self.

Rights groups and former government insiders say the abductions are being carried out by covert units within the DCI, acting with impunity and in some cases allegedly taking orders from the highest levels of government.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has singled out the Operation Support Unit (OSU), which replaced the disbanded Special Service Unit (SSU) in 2023. HRW says in a report early this year that the OSU inherited many SSU officers and continued its role in abductions and extrajudicial killings, allegedly under the direction of the NIS.

“When President Ruto came to power in 2022, he raised concerns about the Special Service Unit, which he said was responsible for abductions and dumping bodies in River Yala,” said Otsieno Namwaya, HRW’s senior Africa researcher. “At that time, over 30 bodies had just been recovered from the river. We believe he knew what he was talking about, as he was the deputy president at the time.”

Namwaya said OSU was deliberately created in 2023 to continue the same illicit activities.

“Operation Support Unit replaced the SSU, and it is doing exactly what the SSU used to do,” Namwaya said. “Suspected traffickers and government critics have become frequent victims of the abduction squad.”

Other reports by Human Rights Watch mention an alleged “Operation Action Team” drawing personnel from multiple security agencies, including the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU), DCI, and military intelligence, highlighting the scale and coordination of these covert operations.

The DCI’s image as a professional, respected investigative body has taken a beating. Courts have repeatedly ordered Amin’s agency to produce missing persons or cease harassment of suspects. Often, these orders have been ignored, or victims are dumped at night when the DCI has been pushed to the wall by the DCI.

In several cases, judges have ordered the DCI to present victims allegedly seized by plainclothes officers. The DCI has failed to comply, prompting threats of contempt proceedings.

Such blatant defiance has sparked outrage among Kenya’s legal community.

“The agony and anguish of those we have lost fuel our resolve to call for justice and reclaim the rule of law,” said Faith Odhiambo, President of the Law Society of Kenya (LSK). “We must not allow room for the denigration of our shared resolve through intolerance and conflict with the law.”

The LSK has filed petitions demanding that the government release abducted victims and publicly account for them. The society says the disappearances violate Article 49 of the Constitution, which guarantees the rights of arrested persons.

“We face an unfortunate paradox as a country where more lives are being lost as the people seek justice for the lives already lost. Our hearts break for all the victims of the continued trend of police brutality and excesses. We urge all Kenyans to take responsibility for their safety and that of fellow citizens in these trying moments for our country. Let us keep each other safe,” the LSK Chairperson said.

Kenya’s abduction crisis has taken an international dimension. Rights groups have documented cases of foreign nationals being seized in Kenya and handed over to their home governments in operations that appear to violate due process and asylum protections.

In July 2024, 36 Ugandan opposition members were arrested in Kisumu and deported on terrorism charges. In October, four Turkish refugees linked to the Gulen movement were abducted in Nairobi and flown back to Turkey.

British national Necdet Seyitoğlu was briefly seized but freed after producing his passport, while four Turks with him remain missing.

“Amnesty International reminds the law enforcement and military officials of the 28 June 2024 High Court ruling in Malindi, which issued temporary orders preventing security agencies from using lethal and other less-lethal ammunition (including water cannons, tear gas, and rubber bullets) against peaceful protesters. The ruling emphasised that any form of violence against peaceful protesters is prohibited,” said Irungu Houghton, Amnesty International Kenya’s Executive Director said in a statement.

Tanzanian activist Maria Sarungi Tsehai was also abducted in Nairobi by masked men before being freed after an outcry, prompting fears of regional cooperation in suppressing dissent.

“Kenya cannot credibly present itself as a champion of democracy while abducting its citizens,” said HRW’s Namwaya, told Al Jazeera. “These crimes invite international scrutiny, possible sanctions, and damage to Kenya’s global standing.”

Diplomats and human rights organisations warn that Kenya’s reputation as a democratic anchor in East Africa is at risk.

“We have seen South Sudanese abducted and rendered back to South Sudan, where they have been killed. We have seen Ethiopians abducted and taken back to Ethiopia. We have seen Congolese abducted here and taken back to Congo, and we have seen Ugandans now being abducted here and taken back to Uganda," said Namwaya.

For those whose loved ones are still missing, the anguish is unrelenting. Parents scour police stations, hospitals, and morgues. Many turn to lawyers and rights groups, hoping for a miracle.