Kenya School of Law (KSL) student council president Joshua Okayo has emerged from a harrowing ordeal to share his traumatic experience in the hands of his Ruto government abductors. As a vocal critic of President William Ruto’s controversial Finance Bill 2024, Okayo's activism made him a target during the nationwide demonstrations. (Full video at the end of this article.)
On 26 June, Okayo was abducted near his Ongata Rongai residence in Kajiado County. He resurfaced three days later near the Maragua River in Murang’a County, clearly bearing the marks of his ordeal.
In a gripping interview with NTV, Okayo recounted his chilling experience. He described how he was lured by a man pretending to be a fellow KSL comrade. Upon approaching the supposed comrades, he was seized, blindfolded, and cuffed before being forced into a car.
“They asked me, ‘Why are you demonstrating?’ I responded it was in solidarity with other Kenyans. They demanded to know our mobilisers and who was funding us. When I insisted no one was behind us, they turned violent,” Okayo recounted.
His abductors repeatedly tortured him, beating his ankles with metal rods, depriving him of food and water, and persistently interrogating him about the protests and the alleged involvement of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in drafting the Finance Bill 2024.
After enduring relentless abuse, Okayo was abandoned by the roadside, where villagers eventually found him and took him to Avenue Hospital in Thika. The physical and psychological trauma he endured has left indelible scars.
Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President Faith Odhiambo condemned the abductions, drawing disturbing parallels to the authoritarian regime of former President Daniel arap Moi. "This is shocking! It feels like we are reliving the Moi era with abductions and torture chambers," she lamented.
It is being loudly whispered that NIS Director General Noordin Haji has thrown human rights to the wind and is doing everything he can to make a second impression on his boss after letting him down monumentally during the lead up to the #RejectFinanceBill2024 protests, a not-so-rare display of incompetence in the Kenya Kwanza regime, but it nonetheless drew a scathing attack from the deputy president.
The recent spate of abductions and extrajudicial killings has intensified scrutiny on the Ruto administration. At least 41 demonstrators were killed, and numerous others injured or disappeared between 19 June and 1 July, according to the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights.
While President Ruto later rejected the Finance Bill under public pressure, the government’s denial of police involvement in these abductions raises alarming questions. Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki announced investigations into these violations but stopped short of acknowledging specific cases.
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