Ruto under fire as rights group disputes claim all protest victims have returned home

Human rights organisation VOCAL Africa has disputed President William Ruto’s assertion that all individuals who disappeared or were abducted during the 2024 Gen Z-led protests have been reunited with their families, describing the statement as both inaccurate.

The organisation argued that President Ruto’s remarks, made during a joint press conference with Finnish President Alexander Stubb, overlook the painful reality faced by many families who are still searching for their missing loved ones, months after their disappearance.

“VOCAL Africa takes note of President Ruto's statement issued yesterday, in which he asserted that: ‘All the people who disappeared or who were abducted have been brought back to their families.’ We find this statement not only inaccurate but deeply dismissive of the lived realities of families still searching for their loved ones months after they disappeared or were abducted during the Gen Z-led protests that began in June 2024,” the organisation said in a statement.

“Many families continue to live in fear, pain, and uncertainty, compounded by official denial and a lack of accountability.”

VOCAL Africa reaffirmed its commitment to supporting victims and families affected by enforced disappearances, abductions, and extrajudicial killings since the onset of the protests.

The organisation noted that it had documented numerous cases through direct testimonies, field investigations, and collaboration with community networks.

Rejecting the President’s statement, VOCAL Africa emphasised that several individuals remain unaccounted for, including: Emmanuel Mukuria, disappeared in Githurai on June 25, 2024; Dennis Chege, abducted in Nairobi’s CBD on the same day; Peter Macharia, last seen in the CBD on June 25, 2024; Martin Mbisi and Kalani Muema, both abducted in Mlolongo on December 17, 2024.

“These names are not isolated cases but represent just a fraction of a broader pattern of repression and impunity,” the organisation said, citing findings based on community-based investigations and testimonies from affected families.

VOCAL Africa also expressed solidarity with families still seeking truth and justice. “As VOCAL Africa, we are ready to present these families to meet with President Ruto (at a time and place of his choosing), so that he may hear firsthand from those whose loved ones are still missing. Healing and justice begin with acknowledgement, not denial,” they noted.

Former Chief Justice David Maraga also criticised President Ruto’s remarks, asserting that no accountability mechanisms are currently in place. He described the President’s statement as deeply hurtful to victims and their families.

“It is unconscionable to hear the President claim, without any apology to the victims, parents, and families, that there are no ongoing incidents of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings, and that accountability mechanisms are in effect.”

He cited the case of Brian Odhiambo, whose mother is still searching for her son, abducted months ago, as evidence of the government’s failure to acknowledge the ongoing pain and suffering.

Maraga referred to findings from the “Brutal Policing: 2024 Annual Report”, which documented a sharp rise in police killings and enforced disappearances. The report recorded 159 cases in 2024, 65 per cent of which were linked to police activity.

The former CJ called for immediate, impartial investigations into the incidents and urged the government to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

“Kenya, as a member of the UN Human Rights Council, should ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and adopt national legislation to prevent and criminalise enforced disappearances,” he stated in a message on X (formerly Twitter).

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“Kenyans yearn for a nation that safeguards its children, a government that upholds the value of human life, and leadership that speaks the truth, especially when truth is essential to justice and the integrity of the highest office.”

During the press conference with President Alexander Stubb, who was on a three-day official visit to Kenya, President Ruto claimed that all Kenyans who had disappeared under suspicious circumstances had been safely returned to their families.

“All the people who disappeared or were abducted have been brought back to their homes. I have given clarity that nothing of that nature will happen again,” he said.

He affirmed his administration’s dedication to preventing enforced disappearances. “I undertook to the country that, as a democracy, Kenya will not return to the dark days when citizens disappeared and their bodies were found in all manner of places. That will not happen under my administration.”

However, the President did not disclose who was responsible for the abductions.