Activist slams state narrative over enforced disappearances

Activist Wafula Buke during an interview on Spice FM on Wednesday, July 1. [Screen grab]

Human rights activists are pushing back against official claims that reported victims are simply going into hiding, arguing the pattern points instead to a deliberate campaign of intimidation against government critics.

Among them is Wafula Buke, who, speaking on Spice FM on Wednesday, July 1, challenged remarks made by Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo on Tuesday.

Omollo maintained that Kenyans reported missing were instead hiding themselves to embarrass the state.

Buke rejected that explanation, arguing it fails to account for victims who reappear with serious injuries.

"It does not make sense for someone to go into hiding and come back injured, tortured and in need of medical attention. The injuries people return with include physical wounds and psychological trauma," he said.

The activist described abductions as a tactic used to isolate individuals from legal safeguards.

He claimed victims are held at undisclosed locations, denied contact with lawyers and family, and sometimes forced to sign agreements against government criticism.

Buke argued the disappearances contradict campaign promises to end enforced abductions, calling them a means of suppressing dissent.

"The Constitution guarantees the right to protest, picket and express dissent. Abductions will not resolve the concerns that citizens are raising," he noted.

His remarks come amid renewed concern over disappearances linked to the June 25 commemorations marking the second anniversary of the 2024 anti-Finance Bill protests.

The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) documented seven fresh cases of enforced disappearance during the latest demonstrations, on top of 74 recorded during the 2024 protest period, of which 26 people remain unaccounted for.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) put the combined figure of those still missing from the 2024 and 2025 protests at 41.

Citing the case of Mathare activist Davis Lichuma, who disappeared during the June 25 commemorations and was found four days later in critical condition, Buke said the silence of victims after release reflects trauma rather than proof that no abuse occurred.

"The experience people go through leaves them traumatised and afraid to speak," he explained.

He warned that continued intimidation could provoke stronger resistance if grievances remain unaddressed, urging the government to pursue constitutional and democratic solutions, including police reforms.

Buke said the practice would only end if victims and the public united in demanding accountability, adding that lasting change depends on strengthening democratic institutions and using elections to hold leaders to account.

The government has repeatedly denied involvement in enforced disappearances, with Omollo insisting security agencies operate within the law.

Accountability has moved slowly, with the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) confirming only three of 62 protest-related deaths have reached court, while 46 cases remain under investigation.

Rights groups, including the Social Justice Centres Working Group (SJCWG) and Amnesty International, continue to press for independent investigations by IPOA and KNCHR