NAIROBI, Kenya – Two victims of abductions, Bob Njagi and Longton Jamil, have opened up about their harrowing experience of forcefully being held incommunicado for 32 days.
They were abducted on August 19, 2024, following their participation in peaceful protests.
Kenya has been gripped by a wave of disappearances, with the state-funded rights group saying that over 80 people have been abducted in the last six months.
According to Longton, the first thing before an abductee enters the holding room is stripped naked and their clothes taken away.
“We stayed for 32 days without our clothing. We were handcuffed on the floor. On the first day, we were beaten properly for like 30 minutes each,” recalled Longton when they appeared on Citizen TV.
Why there was a lapse in the security apparatus during the protests
Longton said that the holding rooms were being opened after 24 hours each.
“I was not around during the protests; I was just collateral damage. There was a lapse in our security apparatus because they could not identify the looters and the demonstrators,” he added.
Another victim of the abductions, Bob Njagi, stated that after they were abducted, they were held in a house around Kiambu County.
“I don’t know where I was locked up, but I believe it is somewhere around Kiambu County. I could hear the noises where we were being held; some crusades were happening around, and I could hear what the worshippers were saying,” Njagi explained.
The @LawSocietyofKe and @ReformsGroup call on @IPOA_KE to thoroughly investigate the abduction and killing of Justus Mtumwa & Martin Mwau. @DCI_Kenya must act swiftly to ensure the safe return of Steven Mbisi & Kalani Mwema. Justice delayed is justice denied!
Njagi said that they were released following pressure from the public.
“The day of our release was the same day that the then-acting IG Gilbert Masengeli appeared in court. It was the pressure that came from these different organisations and Kenyans in general, especially on X (formerly Twitter), that compelled those who had abducted us to release us,” he said.
How Bob Njagi was set free after 32 days in detention
Njagi recalled that it was around 1 am when he heard two men opening the door; they cocked their pistols and opened the door and got into his room.
“It is very unusual because normally once they close the door at midday, they open it the following. So, at this time, I was wondering why they were opening the door, so I thought they could have been coming to finish me,” explained Njagi.
Longton Jamil: The first thing before you enter that room, you are stripped naked, the underpants and vest are snatched. We stayed for 32 days without our clothing. The next thing, you are handcuffed on the floor. On the first day, we were beaten properly for like 30 minutes…
When they opened the door, Njagi said that they threw his shoes, jacket, and trousers on the floor. He was half-naked by this time.
“They asked me to put the clothes on, and I asked them where they were taking me, but they could not answer or talk. But before we left the room, they removed the handcuffs, which had been on me for 32 days, and replaced them with plastic tie knots. I was led outside the room and downstairs into a waiting vehicle with its engine running. I was put into the back seat again, but this time there was only one man on my left,” he narrated.
Longton further recalled that his wife was 8 months pregnant when he was abducted.
“She delivered a few days after I was released. Her pressure was very high; we knew we were either going to lose her or the baby. But they are doing well. We got a baby girl called Jamila,” Longton added.
Why Longton Jamil is yet to get back to his feet after being freed
He lamented that the abduction had changed their lives for the worse, adding that his IT business had gone down.
“Before the abductions, I had a loan from the KCB Kitengela branch to boost my business. I had borrowed a loan of Sh 1.2 million, and I used to repay Sh 52,000 monthly. Currently, my bank statement reads negative Sh 100,000 because I can only afford half of what I used to pay the bank before the abduction,” Longton said.
He reiterated that the business image has gone down, and that is what he is trying to rebuild again.
“The news of our abduction was all over the media. According to some residents of Kitengela, we were portrayed as very serious criminals in Kenya. They didn’t understand the meaning of our abduction. This is why we are always in the media trying to clear our names so that Kenyans can know what we went through and why we went through that,” said Njagi while appreciating the human rights organisations that have supported them after their release.
🕰️ 3 days after President Ruto announced that he would halt abductions in Kenya, dozens are still missing. Distraught parents are having to investigate the disappearances of their kids themselves while the government maintains it doesn’t have them or know where they are
They include the Defenders Coalition, Vocal Africa, and IMLU.
“They have used a lot of resources to ensure that we are back on our feet. I have four school-going children all in private schools, but in case things get worse, I will have to move them to public schools just because of my plight,” he decried.
Why abductors should engage their victims in a civilised way
Gerald Mwangi, father to Billy Mwangi, who was abducted in Embu County, said the stories of abductions sound like a horror movie.
“Let us understand one thing: God gave us the gift of life. I want to tell abductors that I don’t know you, but I am asking you, supposing you get into my shoes; your children have been abducted. It is a reversed role now; how would you feel?” Mwangi paused.
He told the abductors to be human, and if anyone is coercing them to abduct people, they should resist.
“Because you might abduct people only to abduct your relative without knowing, and that is very painful. Let the abductors talk to these young men publicly in a forum where we can all participate without harming them,” said Mwangi.
Njagi explained that the struggle and fight that they have been pushing in the protests has been about good governance and accountability.
“Yes, we have been through an abduction, but we are not relenting in our struggle and pushing for good governance. If anything, this is something that has given us a reason to be bolder with what we are doing. As a free Kenyan movement, we are organising an alternative leadership to take over this country after we send the current government home soon or in 2027,” said Njagi.
