NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 14 – Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’Oei has weighed in on the recent spate of abduction cases in Kenya, calling for a balanced perspective on the country’s overall security situation.
In a statement, the PS acknowledged that while challenges remain in ensuring safety for all citizens, significant strides have been made in enhancing security nationwide.
“While much remains to be done to ensure security for all and at all times, it is refreshing to hear this objective assessment: Kenya is a safer space,” Sing’Oei stated citing the remarks by Tanzanian activist Maria Sarungi who was recently abducted and released following public outcry.
Sing’Oei referenced Sarungi’s sentiments attributing improved safety to three key factors-strong social solidarity, strong rule of law & actors responsive to civic pressure.
The PS’s comments come amid heightened public concern over rising cases abductions, particularly those targeting anti-government activists.
The abduction of Sarungi heightened fears of cross-border crackdowns on dissent and raised questions about Kenya’s complicity in such actions.
However, Sarungi on Monday ruled out the involvement of Kenyan police in her abduction on Sunday.
Narrating the ordeal to the press in Nairobi, she revealed that her abductors desperately avoided police checkpoints.
“At some random stops, they ordered me to hide, and I could hear someone talking to them from outside the car,” Sarungi revealed.
She said her abductors did not have any security escort but were instead independent.
“After attempting to access my phone for the third time without success, they threatened to take me to the police. Thinking it was the police all along, I questioned who they were then,” Sarungi recalled.
Sarungi further revealed that while in transit, her abductors kept making random stops and went outside the car to consult among themselves.
She said that at one point, she was left in the car with one of the three men who abducted her to prevent her from escaping while the other two went outside to converse.
“While inside the car, they were not talking, but from what I could see, they were signaling each other in a way I could not understand,” Sarungi said.
Sarungi revealed that her abductors primarily targeted her mobile phone, which they managed to take but fortunately without the password.
“Realizing they couldn’t execute their plans successfully, they resorted to taking my phone,” she recalled.
She also said her abductors were driving at high speed with the intent of getting her back to Tanzania.
“When I asked why they wanted to take me to Tanzania, one of them told me I was needed in Tanzania because I have done wrong,’” Sarungi narrated.
Sunday’s incident had sparked concerns over an emerging pattern of abduction of foreigners, ostensibly by Kenyan security agencies, the latest being the dramatic seizure of Uganda’s opposition leader, Kizza Besigye, in Nairobi and his forced return to Uganda, where he was presented in a military court.
Maria’s abduction came just a week after the release of seven young men who had been held captive for weeks.
Human rights organizations said they have documented over 40 cases of abductions since June 2024, many targeting individuals critical of the government or linked to contentious political issues.
