NAIROBI, Kenya — Traffic was disrupted in Nairobi’s central business district on Thursday morning after residents, most of them mothers from Kiamaiko, staged fresh protests over the alleged abduction and disappearance of two youths from the larger Mathare area.
The demonstrators marched through sections of the city carrying placards and chanting slogans demanding the return of the missing youths, while lighting bonfires and partially blocking Kenyatta Avenue.
The protesters said they were demonstrating against what they described as a growing trend of enforced disappearances involving young men from Kiamaiko, Mathare and Huruma. They called on security agencies to either produce the missing individuals or explain their whereabouts.
At the centre of the protests is the disappearance of Abdulaziz Duba Molu, popularly known as Zizo or Zizou, a trader from Kiamaiko who has been missing since June 23, 2026.
According to his family, Zizo was last seen in Juja, Kiambu County, where he had travelled to supervise fencing work. Witnesses alleged that he was taken away by armed men, some dressed in civilian clothes and others reportedly wearing police uniforms.
His relatives claim the individuals identified themselves, or were believed to be, security officers before leaving with him. Since then, the family says all efforts to establish his whereabouts have been unsuccessful.
Zizo’s disappearance sparked demonstrations in Kiamaiko and parts of Mathare shortly after he went missing, with residents demanding that authorities either release him or formally present him before a court if he was under investigation.
Although those protests later subsided, Thursday’s demonstrations reflected renewed frustration among residents, who accused authorities of failing to provide answers weeks after the reported disappearance.
The protesters said families continue to live in uncertainty as they await information on the missing youths and called for independent investigations into the alleged disappearances.
Traffic along sections of Kenyatta Avenue slowed significantly as protesters occupied part of the roadway, while police officers monitored the demonstrations.
By the time of publication, the National Police Service had not issued an official statement regarding the renewed protests or the allegations surrounding the disappearance of the two youths.
