On Friday November 19, Ethiopian businessman Samson Teklemichael was kidnapped in Kileleshwa (see P2).
This has the hallmarks of a state-sponsored action. The police could easily track the Subaru using CCTV footage. Ordinary thieves would not have left his Bentley behind.
Teklemichael appears to have committed no crime apart from being from Tigray. He was a dealer in LPG gas. He has probably been extradited to Addis Ababa.
In June, Biafran activist Nnamdi Kanu was abducted at JKIA after a hoax call to pick up a passenger. Soon afterwards, he appeared in court in Lagos.
In May, Kenyan security detained Selahaddin Gulen, the nephew of Fethullah Gulen who Turkish President Erdogan accuses of orchestrating a 2016 coup attempt.
None of the three men had committed any crime in Kenya. Teklemichael and Gulen do not appear to have been politically active. Kanu was a British citizen.
These illegal extraditions are discrediting Kenya which positions itself as the regional hub for eastern Africa. For that to succeed, there needs to be genuine rule of law and security of property, including for foreigners. We need to attract people to Nairobi, not drive them away.
Quote of the day: "History will judge me... I shall remain silent."
Joseph-Désiré Mobutu
The Congolese army officer seized power on November 24, 1965
