Cabinet Secretary Justin B Muturi at Serena hotel, Nairobi yesterday.
By Justin B Muturi
Worth Noting:
- Today, there has been a number of abductions and in some cases unexplained deaths since the Gen Z revolts in June last year. It is unfortunate as most of the people being abducted are our youth leaving the parents and other family members in a state of confusion and loss.
- I have personally suffered as my son was abducted and disappeared, I was not sure whether he was alive or dead, making us anxious and leaving me, my wife and my family in turmoil. It must be remembered that I was the Attorney General of the Republic of Kenya at the time, yet I was unable to trace my son despite making several requests and demands to all levels of the security apparatus.
I have been quiet for some time now and many people have been asking me where the country is heading and where we are and so I would like to state as follows.
I joined the Kenya Kwanza coalition owing to the fact that the principles that they espoused were in tandem with the principles of the party I belong to, namely the Democratic Party. Many friends and political colleagues at the time warned me about joining the coalition, but I was persuaded that we would be driven by the ideals that the coalition stated as a hustler Nation to do the best for the people of Kenya.
One of the things we had accused the past regimes of was the existence of disappearances and extra-judicial killings and we vowed that we would never, under our watch condone or allow such. We stated this time and time again in the lead up to the last general election.
Today, there has been a number of abductions and in some cases unexplained deaths since the Gen Z revolts in June last year. It is unfortunate as most of the people being abducted are our youth leaving the parents and other family members in a state of confusion and loss.
I have personally suffered as my son was abducted and disappeared, I was not sure whether he was alive or dead, making us anxious and leaving me, my wife and my family in turmoil. It must be remembered that I was the Attorney General of the Republic of Kenya at the time, yet I was unable to trace my son despite making several requests and demands to all levels of the security apparatus. Now, more than six months after that ordeal and the release of my son, by unknown forces, he has not been charged with any offense and nobody has explained why he was abducted and held incommunicado.
The security sector has said that they are not involved in the abductions, but interestingly they have failed to stop them as they are happening in full public glare. The President has equally said that he would want the abductions to end. Kenyans want to know how many of our youth have been taken since the abductions started, how many have been released, how many are still being held and where it is they are being held.
On Friday last week (3rd January 2025)at a funeral in Embu, I stated that it was not possible for the government to say that it did not know anything about the abductions because that amounts to shunning its responsibility on accountability.
That is why I took issue with the statement made by the IG that he did not know where the abductees are. The government cannot be excused for abdicating its duty of protecting the lives and property of the people of Kenya. I note that after my statement several young people were released, but from the reports we see many are still being held.
The cardinal duty of the state and the government is to protect the lives and livelihood of its citizens and cannot claim to be unaware of such serious breaches of the rights of Kenyans to live free from wrongful confinement and the violation of their inalienable right to life.
Therefore, the security forces should arrest and bring to book all those that are involved in the abductions without fail and all the young people being held in illegal captivity should be freed.
I am fully aware of the doctrine of collective responsibility, but since I am also a victim of the abductions and serving in this government I have not gotten any answers, I have taken this unusual step so that the matter can debated honesty and openly as country with a view to finding a lasting solution to this issue which if left unchecked has the potential to plunge the country into chaos and anarchy.
Justin B Muturi is the Cabinet Secretary for Public Service and Human Capital Development
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