NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 6 – Four youths who were abducted last month have been found.
Billy Mwangi, Peter Muteti, Bernard Kavuli and Rony Kiplagat reached out to their families even as three others remain missing.
Billy who had been missing for about 15 days walked to his Embu home after he had been abandoned in Nyeri, about 60 kilometers away.
It is not clear who was behind the abduction but his family had linked the same to his criticism on the government.
To the family of Billy, it was a relieve. Pictures circulated online showing him hugging a relative at their Majengo home in Embu.
This came as human rights activists planned a protest to condemn abduction and forced disappearance.
Muteti was also released by his abductors in Nairobi and found his way to his home.
He had been abducted outside an apartment on December 21 in Nairobi over social media posts he made.
Over the past six months, cases of abductions and enforced disappearances have become common as parents living in fear of their youth disappearing without a trace.
According to the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, there have been at least 82 cases of abductions since June last year, the period when youths took to the streets to protest against the Finance Bill.
In the last three months of 2024, at least 13 cases of abductions were recorded with December alone accounting for seven, the Commission said.
The Director of Public Prosecutions Mulele Ingonga directed the police to inform him on status or investigations into claims of abductions and forced disappearances by January 1, 2025.
