Police did not abduct Kitengela activist, two brothers - IG Kanja

Newly-appointed Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja has maintained that the National Police Service (NPS) is not holding an activist and two siblings who were reportedly abducted in Kitengela in the wake of anti-government demonstrations.

Despite reportedly being abducted in late August, the whereabouts of Bob Njagi - the leader of the Free Kenya Movement- and that of siblings, Aslam and Jamil Longton, remain unknown.

Njagi was forcibly taken by masked individuals from a Kitengela-bound matatu he was traveling in on August 19, 2024.

He was last seen in an interview with Citizen TV outside Kamukunji Police Station, where businessman Jimi Wanjigi had been detained amid claims of financing the anti-government protests.

The two brothers, on the other hand, were abducted by men in a Subaru vehicle outside their home in Kitengela on the same day.

Addressing journalists at the NPS headquarters in Nairobi after officially taking over from Acting IG Gilbert Masengeli, Kanja reiterated his predecessor's stance, asserting that the police were not involved in the trio's abductions.

"I have just taken over but what I can tell you is that we don't have the 'Kitengela 3' with us.  A report was made and we have an active investigation. We are also urging the people of Kenya with any information (on the same) to come forward," said Kanja.

Kanja's sentiments were echoed by Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Amin Mohamed who also attended the handing over ceremony.

"It is unfortunate that we have received a lot of complaints regarding abductions. The NPS is not involved in any case of abductions. Our duty and responsibility is to make sure that whoever is involved in abductions is apprehended and taken to court and to ensure the abductees are safe and we bring them back alive," said Mohamed.

"I want to reiterate that as officers of NPS, we are not holding the 'Kitengela 3'. They are not in our custody. Any person arrested by the NPS is taken to a gazetted police station. We don't have other detention facilities."

The search for the trio's whereabouts has landed former IG Masengeli in trouble, resulting in a six-month prison sentence for contempt of court due to his failure to appear and respond to questions about their location.