Missing activist Davis Lichuma found alive after disappearance during Gen Z protests commemoration, rights group says he was brutally.

Activist Davis Lichuma has been found alive, ending days of uncertainty over his whereabouts after he disappeared during the June 25, 2026, Gen Z protests anniversary commemorations.

According to the Social Justice Centres Working Group (SJCWG), Lichuma was found after allegedly being brutally tortured, abandoned and left for dead before he was taken to Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) and later transferred to Nairobi Women’s Hospital for urgent medical care.

The group noted that Lichuma was unable to speak when he was found, raising concern over what he may have gone through during the period he was missing.

“While we are relieved that he has been located, we remain deeply concerned about his condition. At the time of his discovery, Comrade Lichuma was unable to speak, raising serious concerns about what he may have been subjected to during the period he was missing,” the group said.

SJCWG has now called for an immediate, independent and transparent investigation into the circumstances surrounding his disappearance, the injuries or trauma he may have suffered, and those responsible for his alleged unlawful detention and abandonment.

“We demand an immediate, independent, and transparent investigation into the circumstances surrounding his disappearance, the injuries or trauma he may have sustained, and those responsible for his unlawful detention and subsequent abandonment,” it said.

The organisation emphasised that Lichuma’s recovery does not answer the questions surrounding his disappearance, insisting that those responsible, including any state officers who may have been involved, should be identified and held accountable in accordance with the law.

“This is not merely an assault on an individual; no, it is a chilling indictment of a system that allows enforced disappearances, torture, and extrajudicial abuse to flourish with impunity. After days of denials and unanswered questions about his whereabouts, Davis has emerged bearing the physical evidence of the violence inflicted upon him,” it said.

“Those responsible for his abduction, torture, and illegal detention must be identified and held accountable. The Kenyan public deserves answers: Who took Davis? Where was he held? Who ordered his torture? Why was he abandoned and left for dead?”

The group also thanked human rights defenders, members of the public, the media and all those who joined efforts to push for Lichuma’s whereabouts to be made known.

It said its immediate priority is to ensure Lichuma receives urgent medical care, legal support and protection while standing with his family as they seek truth and justice.

“We will continue to monitor his condition closely and stand with his family as they seek truth and justice,” they said.

“We will not accept silence, cover-ups, or excuses. An injury to one is an injury to all. The struggle for justice continues until every perpetrator is brought to account and until enforced disappearances and torture become a thing of the past.”

Before he was found, the government had been given 24 hours to produce him or face fresh protests on Tuesday, June 30, 2026.

During a press briefing at the Mathare Ghetto Foundation on Sunday, human rights defenders and community organisers accused authorities of failing to address increasing cases of enforced disappearances involving activists. They demanded that Lichuma be produced immediately, warning that failure to do so would lead to street demonstrations.

Lichuma’s mother, Margaret Lichuma, said her son visited her on June 24, a day before he disappeared, and asked her to pray for him because he understood the risks of taking part in the protests.

She said people who had been arrested alongside her son had already been released, leaving her increasingly worried about his whereabouts. She also disclosed that Lichuma had an existing stab wound on his abdomen, raising concern over his health and whether he had been receiving medical attention.