Isiolo protests erupt over disappearance of hawker George Gitonga

Police clash with protesters along the Isiolo–Moyale highway in Isiolo Town, May 18, 2026. [Bruno Mutunga, Standard]

Business operations in Isiolo Town were disrupted for the better part of yesterday as traders at Isiolo Market joined other Isiolo residents in demonstrations over the controversial disappearance of 35-year-old hawker, George Gitonga, who has been missing since Thursday last week.

The protesters barricaded the busy Isiolo – Moyale highway, merging the demonstrations with anti-fuel hike protests. 

Gitonga, who sells household wares at the Isiolo Market during the day and operates a motorbike in the evening, was last spotted on Thursday evening at around 9.00 pm carrying two male clients on his motorbike. After that, his phone went off conspicuously, and he has not been seen or heard from since.

 George Gitonga. [Bruno Mutunga, Standard]

The protesters slammed Government security agencies, especially the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, accusing them of laxity and not doing enough to unearth what transpired on Thursday evening, and help trace the whereabouts of Gitonga and his motorbike.

Valentine Nyaguthii and Eunice Kaembe, traders at the Isiolo market, accused government security agencies of trivialising the sensitive matter of the disappearance of a person, arguing that they see better response whenever heads of livestock are stolen, with planes and drones being deployed to track the animals, but similar effort is lacking in the case of Gitonga’s disappearance.

According to the Isiolo County Criminal Investigations Officer (CCIO) Denis Wekesa, a report of the missing hawker was filed at the Isiolo Police Station on Friday at 11.00 am, after which the investigative officers tracked his mobile phone, with the Isiolo Livestock Marketing Division (LMD) which is approximately three kilometers from Isiolo market being identified as the last location where the phone went off either due to power outage, or was switched off.

Police clash with protesters along the Isiolo–Moyale highway in Isiolo Town, May 18, 2026. [Bruno Mutunga, Standard]

He said that investigations into the incident were still ongoing, and ruled out the involvement of Government agencies in his disappearance. Wekesa noted that they are treating the incident as a criminal matter and that the investigating officers are still gathering intelligence that will help trace the whereabouts of the missing trader.

He dismissed as a falsehood any information being peddled that the police and the DCI Office have not taken the matter with the seriousness it deserves, assuring the traders that his office is doing everything to ensure that Gitonga is traced and reunited with his family.

The County detective, however, advised that the peaceful demonstration against Gitonga’s disappearance should not be combined with the violent protests over the fuel price hike, urging protesters to ensure the two are held separately.

The Missing hawker has a young family, a wife and a child, who depend on him as the sole provider.