President William Ruto has drawn a firm line under Kenya’s dark history of extrajudicial disappearances, declaring that enforced abductions will not be tolerated under his administration.
Addressing a national governance forum on Sunday, Ruto delivered a sweeping defense of his human rights record and institutional reforms.
In a bold statement likely aimed at quelling public concern, he declared:
“All the people who disappeared — all of them — have been brought back to their families and homes, and I have given clarity and firm instructions that nothing of that kind of nature will happen again.”
The president’s comments come at a politically sensitive time, with less than two years to the 2027.
Kenya has a troubling history of political abductions and enforced disappearances, a pattern that has intensified in recent years, particularly targeting Generation Z activists.
Following the youth-led protests against the Finance Bill 2024, at least 82 individuals, many of them young digital activists, were abducted or disappeared under suspicious circumstances.
Notably, Billy Mwangi, a 24-year-old student, was abducted and tortured for posting an AI-generated image satirizing President William Ruto .
Other activists, such as cartoonist Gideon Kibet and his brother Rony Kiplang'at, vanished without a trace .
These incidents echo the repressive tactics of the Moi era, with human rights organizations like the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights documenting a resurgence of state-sanctioned abductions and arbitrary arrests.
Rights groups have repeatedly accused security agencies of abducting activists and government critics — many of whom were later found dead or never found at all.
In his speech, Ruto sought to distance himself from such practices, painting his administration as one of reform and accountability.
“Kenyans must not, as has happened in the past, disappear and have their bodies found in remote areas. That will not happen under my dministration,” he said.
He cited institutional changes made since taking office, including financial and operational autonomy for the National Police Service.
“We transferred the police budget from the Office of the President to the Police Service Commission. The Inspector General is now solely responsible for matters of operations and finances — my office has nothing to do with it anymore,” he said.
Ruto also pointed to efforts to strengthen the judiciary, noting that his cabinet recently approved expanded benefits for judges, including retirement packages and logistical support, in a move he framed as part of broader reforms to ensure checks and balances.
However, not everyone is convinced. While Ruto insists that all previously disappeared persons have been returned to their families, no public documentation has been provided to support this claim.
Meanwhile, civil society organizations have warned that the return of politically motivated repression — even in subtler forms — remains a real risk ahead of the 2027 vote.
Still, Ruto’s declarations signal a high-stakes balancing act: reassuring the public and the international community of his democratic credentials, even as political tensions and suspicion over electoral impartiality continue to rise.
Whether these assurances will translate into a transparent and violence-free electoral process is te test that lies ahead.