Kanu condemns abduction of Standard Group Associate editor

Standard Group Associate Editor Alex Kiprotich at the Standard Group Center on September 02, 2026 after he was abducted along the Gilgil–Nakuru Road by armed men alongside his driver on August 01, 2026. [Stafford Ondego, Standard]

KANU Party has condemned the abduction of Standard Group Associate Editor Alex Kiprotich on Tuesday night at Gilgil Weighbridge, along the Nairobi-Nakuru Highway.

In a statement, the party termed the brazen abduction that was caught on a hidden camera as disturbing and uncalled for.

The Secretary General George Wainaina wrote that the incident was not an isolated one and could not be dismissed with the usual assurances and expressions of concern.

“It must be stated in no uncertain terms that the abduction of a journalist is a direct assault on media freedom and the rule of law,” the party condemned.

“We reject, in all its manifestations, the attempt to normalize intimidation, unlawful detention or abduction of journalists for speaking truth to power,” Wainaina added.

The party noted that in June this year, Kiprotich survived an attempted abduction near his Nakuru home and reported the matter at Menengai Police Station.

“No action was taken whatsoever to find those responsible for the criminality,” the party wrote.

Kanu insisted that no person should be subjected to arbitrary detention because the same cannot be an instrument of law enforcement and is a violation of the law.

The party demands a thorough, independent and transparent investigation into both the Tuesday night abduction and the June 27, attempted abduction, reported at Menengai Police Station.

“Those found culpable must be identified and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Media freedom is not a concession from those in power but a constitutional right, and protecting it is an obligation of every institution entrusted with public authority,” the party wrote.

Kiprotich, who was abducted by unknown gunmen, was found on Wednesday morning, abandoned near Masinga Dam, nine hours after his abduction.