NAIROBI, Kenya, July 2 — Opposition-backed restorative justice champion Justin Muturi has denounced what he describes as state-sponsored terror through covert arrests, warning that the country is dangerously veering toward authoritarianism.
Muturi condemned the arrests amid an escalating standoff between the High Court and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) over the mysterious disappearance of blogger Ndiang’ui Kinyagia.
In a tense session at Nairobi’s Milimani Law Courts on Tuesday, Justice Chacha Mwita directed the DCI to produce the blogger — linked to an open invitation calling protesters to State House during the June 25 demonstrations — dead or alive.
In a hard-hitting statement released Wednesday, Muturi challenged President William Ruto to rein in rogue plainclothes officers and covert police units accused of abducting government critics using unmarked vehicles.
“Abducting Kenyans is not law enforcement, it is state terrorism,” the Chairperson of the People’s Restorative Justice Commission (PRJC) stated.
“We have reached a point where ordinary Kenyans cannot differentiate between legitimate police work and criminal kidnapping. That is the tragedy. That is the danger,” he cautioned.
Muturi accused the DCI of abandoning lawful criminal procedures in favor of terror tactics, including night-time raids, enforced disappearances, and operations involving heavily armed, disguised officers.
“This is not about crime prevention. It is about power preservation,” the former Public Service Cabinet Secretary and House Speaker declared warned.
“The DCI is not above the law. It is a creature of the law. When it steps outside that boundary, it becomes an agent of oppression, not justice.”
He emphasized that the wave of abductions should not be viewed as a partisan matter but rather as a national crisis concerning the erosion of constitutional rights.
“We must refuse to be ruled by fear and silence,” he said. “Because when the law is suspended for one, it is suspended for all.”
Court summons
Muturi’s remarks come amid growing concern over a crackdown on dissent, with Justice Mwita summoning DCI Director Mohammed Amin to appear in person on Thursday, July 3, to account for the blogger’s whereabouts.
“The DCI officers were the last known individuals to visit his residence before he disappeared,” Justice Mwita said. “We need an explanation as to where he is.”
The directive came after Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja failed to produce Kinyagia on Tuesday, despite a court order issued the previous day.
Senior Counsel Martha Karua, representing Kinyagia’s legal team, accused the DCI of blatant defiance of judicial authority.
“They [police] are not taking the orders of this court seriously. It is their business to find him — that’s why we pay them,” Karua told the court.
