TikToker Geoffrey Chesoni recounts harrowing abduction, torture by suspected state agents

Dragged into a speeding Subaru, handcuffed and dumped in a forest, these are some of the harrowing experiences TikToker Geoffrey Chesoni claims he endured after being abducted in broad daylight by suspected state security agents in Mombasa.

Chesoni, a popular content creator, was seized on Tuesday in the city’s central business district by seven armed men travelling in a Subaru vehicle, registration number KDC 126E.

A video clip circulating online shows one of the abductors firing a gunshot into the air before the vehicle sped off with Chesoni.

“When we visited Chesoni at his home, he was in pain, both physically and emotionally, recounting the terrifying moments,” a witness said.

“Walikuwa wamenifunga pingu, wakanipiga, maumivu kweli, sahii nahisi,” Chesoni said, describing how he was handcuffed and beaten.

He claimed the men drove him for hours to a forest in Voi, where he was tortured and interrogated.

“Ni nani anayefadhili hizi vitu? Unajua Ojwang aliuwawa, wewe,” one of the armed men reportedly demanded, as they beat him and accused him of being funded to take part in the June 25, 2025, protests.

Chesoni said the men appeared to be in regular communication with an unknown source throughout his captivity.

“When I talk about mental torture, they were threatening me. They were telling me, ‘We’ll leave you here to be eaten by wild animals. We’ll throw you into this forest,’” he recalled.

“They even gave me examples; You see, even with Albert Ojwang, he was killed, and that was the end of the story. They kept mentioning people who had died before.”

According to Chesoni, the group was relentless, demanding to know who was funding him and warning that no one would find his body if they chose to kill him.

“During that time, they kept interrogating me and threatening to kill me, saying no one would ever know because they were using vehicles with fake number plates,” he said.

“They told me, ‘Tell us who is funding you, or we will kill you.’”

Chesoni said the men didn’t resemble normal police officers.

“These people don’t look like normal police officers. They look nothing like police. They had IDs, but these IDs didn’t have names, just said something like ‘Police Service’ with no identification,” he said.

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The ordeal did not end in Voi. Chesoni says that after the torture in the forest, he was taken to the State House in Mombasa, where the abuse continued.

“Hapa ndio Ikulu sasa. Sema ulikuwa unataka kwenda,” one of the men told him upon arrival.

He said he was later released but warned not to speak about what had happened. He has since been summoned to appear before the Anti-Terror Police Unit (ATPU) on Monday.

Chesoni also claimed that the officers demanded his phone, which he had dropped during the chaos of the abduction.

The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) has documented 15 cases of enforced disappearances following the June 25 protests. The protests, which marked the anniversary of the 2024 anti-government demonstrations, also resulted in 179 arrests, 531 injuries, and 19 deaths.

President William Ruto has condemned the protests, saying they were not peaceful but acts of “calculated chaos, violence, destruction and economic sabotage.”

He has instructed security agencies to carry out swift investigations and arrest those behind the attacks on police officers, looting, and destruction of property.

“The Constitution guarantees peaceful protest, but we must not confuse that with destruction of businesses, police stations, or acts of violence,” Ruto said.

Meanwhile, the Police Reforms Working Group has condemned the arrest and detention of three human rights defenders: John Nzau, Mark Amiani, and Francis Mwangi, who were arrested in Machakos County on Saturday morning.

The group says the three are being held at Muthaiga Police Station and is demanding their immediate release, an end to intimidation and full adherence to constitutional rights by security agencies.