Pressure is piling on President William Ruto to set up a public judicial inquiry into the rising cases of abductions, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions.
The calls have intensified following the brutal killing of teacher and X influencer Albert Ojwang’ inside a police station, and this week’s shooting of hawker Boniface Mwangi by a masked officer.
The judicial inquiry, which was first demanded by former Public Service CS Justin Muturi, is gaining traction, with human rights watchdogs sustaining the call. This is amidst Gen Z’s plan for a major commemoration on June 25.
On Tuesday, a group of ex-political detainees demanded a public judicial inquiry into the escalating cases of abductions and extrajudicial executions across the country.
The group, led by ODM executive director Oduor Ong’wen and former Imenti Central MP Gitobu Imanyara, warned that unless the matter is addressed, the country risks sliding back into a dark era of state repression.
The former detainees said the recent spike in enforced disappearances, mysterious deaths in police custody and harassment of activists and dissenting voices bears chilling similarities to the authoritarian tactics of past regimes.
“As survivors of the darkest chapter in our national history, a chapter soaked in the blood and tears of patriots, we not only express our outrage but also reaffirm our unyielding commitment to resist the return of a rogue state,” the former detainees said.
“Silence is not an option. Appeasement is not peace. We must confront tyranny whenever and wherever it sprouts.”
The veterans spoke at a time the country is smarting from Ojwang’s murder after he was arrested in Homa Bay and killed in Nairobi’s Central Police station.
“Ojwang’s murder is not an isolated incident. It builds upon a growing pattern of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings that are fast becoming the identifying mark of this government,” they said in the statement.
“State-sanctioned lawlessness, once the bitter memory of our generation, is now being normalised in the present.”
Other ex-political detainees who addressed the press conference in Nairobi include Prof Ngotho Kariuki, Prof Edward Oyugi, Gakuo wa Maina, Wafula Buke, Prof Kiongo Maina and Oginga Kawino.
The former detainees said unless a credible public inquiry is put in place, the spate of rights abuses will eclipse the country’s democratic ideals.
“We demand a public judicial inquiry into the rising incidents of abductions, torture and extrajudicial executions across the country,” the joint statement reads.
“Only a transparent process led by an independent judiciary can restore public confidence in the rule of law.”
The team also called for more transparency and reforms in the entire country’s judicial reforms.
They asked for comprehensive and genuine reforms in the criminal justice system, including oversight and accountability mechanisms in the police service, judiciary and prosecutorial services.
“We demand a justice system that serves the people, not power,” they said.
