IPOA wants answers on abductions after Ruto says all victims released

Chairperson of the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) Ahmed Issack Hassan during the Missing Voices Annual Report Launch on brutal policing shedding light on Statistics and Trends of Extrajudicial Killings and Enforced Disappearances in Kenya 2024 on May 7, 2025.[Standard, Kanyiri Wahito] The Independent Policing and Oversight Authority (IPOA) has now called for a public inquiry into the cases of abductions reported in the Country. In the wake of admissions by President William Ruto that all abducted Kenyans had been released, IPOA chairperson Isaack Hassan yesterday called on Parliament to spearhead the process of setting up an inquiry aimed at establishing who exactly was behind the human rights violations. "IPOA has also recommended that because of the nature of these complaints, we need to set up a public enquiry on this matter. Whether it will be called a judicial commission of Inquiry or a public inquiry but some sort of inquiry that can bring together all these complaints and arrests," said Hassan while appearing before the National Assembly Committee on administration and Internal Security yesterday. The House team was considering the financial year 2025/2026 budget estimates. Hassan brought to the fore that the authority had observed a pattern of abductions where those abducting Kenyans were not clad in official police uniform but were armed and carried out the abductions in broad daylight and were "not even concerned by the presence of regular police nearby or CCTV cameras." "They appeared to be very comfortable in what they were doing. They kept people in detention camps for sometime and some people were even given transport when they were being dropped. This looked like a very organised operation but we continue to investigate. We are getting to the families of those abducted to get what happened," submitted Hasan. He also expressed frustrations in conducting investigations into the abductions and police killings. "As we sit now, it's very hard to pin point the police because the Inspector General of Police has come out and said they do not know and are not taking part in these abductions or killings," he stated. "It's up to the committee and this Parliament to give guidance on that. As for IPOA, we only oversight the police and we have heard people were being abducted by policemen and we have tried to get more information so that they are arrested and charged. " The Authority's Chief Executive Officer Elema Halake placed the responsibility of bringing the abductors to book on the doorstep of the Nationals Police Service. "As IPOA we feel the National Police Service remains responsible to unearth the abductions as it is a major issue that the IG should lead in getting Resolutions," Halake stated. The Chairperson made the sentiments in response to a query by the Gabrirl Tongoyo -led Commiittee on measures it had taken to address the rampant issues of abductions alleged to be perpetrated by the police. "The President recently said that people who had been abducted have been released and it is true. But who was behind the abductions? Have you investigated who was behind the acts?" posed Mandera MP Hussein Abdirahman. At the same time the Authority has called for the setting up of special courts to deal with police violations. "We have anti-corruption courts and land and environment courts as well as children courts. So we thought we could ask the Chief Justice and the office of Director of Public Prosecutions to establish a special court specifically dealing with police violations cases," he noted. "The ODPP himself has already tasked specific prosecutors who are dealing with police because they keep getting experience as they prosecute police men. Instead of lumping all these cases together, we are asking that these cases be given a priority because they are a matter of public interest. " The development comes after President William Ruto assured the country that all Kenyans reported missing under suspicious circumstances had been safely reunited with their families, emphasizing his administration's commitment to preventing enforced disappearances. Speaking on Monday during a joint press conference with Finnish President Alexander Stubb, President Ruto responded to questions from journalists regarding the recent cases of abductions. "There is an accountability mechanism to ensure such situations are addressed," said Ruto. "I undertook to the country that, as a democracy, Kenya will not go back to the dark days when citizens disappeared and their bodies were found in all manner of places. That will not happen under my administration." But despite confirming that all previously reported missing people had been reunited with their families, the Head of State did not disclose who was behind the abductions. "All the people who disappeared or were abducted have been brought back to their homes. I have given clarity that nothing of that nature will happen again," he announced.

IPOA wants answers on abductions after Ruto says all victims released

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IPOA wants answers on abductions after Ruto says all victims released

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