The Kenya Kwanza administration is facing fresh demands to explain what happened to Kenyans who were allegedly abducted, killed or subjected to police brutality, with the Democratic Congress Party calling for a detailed account of cases reported since 2022.
DCP Secretary-General designate and Nyandarua Senator John Methu said the government should stop offering general responses and instead give Kenyans a clear record of complaints involving security agencies, investigations conducted and prosecutions that have followed.
Speaking at the party headquarters in Nairobi, Methu focused on incidents surrounding the June 2024 anti-Finance Bill protests and the Saba Saba demonstrations, questioning why some people were taken away and others remained unaccounted for.
“On police brutality and abductions, we ask: why did you have this on June 24 and 25, and during the Saba Saba protests? Why were they abducted? Why did others disappear?”
His concerns come amid figures from the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights showing that 82 cases of abduction or enforced disappearance were recorded between June and December 2024. At the time, KNCHR said 29 people were still missing.
Amnesty International, relying on information from KNCHR and the Law Society of Kenya, separately reported that more than 300 people were unlawfully detained on June 25. By the end of August, 72 cases involving people who had been abducted, released or remained missing had been documented.
Methu also turned his attention to the case of Ugandan opposition politician and former presidential candidate Kizza Besigye, who was allegedly taken from Nairobi on November 16, 2024.
Besigye later appeared in Kampala and was presented before a military court, where he was charged together with Haji Obeid Lutale. Amnesty International said his transfer raised concerns over international human rights and extradition rules, while Kenya said it was looking into how he left the country.
“Was Dr. Kizza Besigye abducted in Kenya or not? Was he abducted by the Kenyan authorities or not?”
The senator also revisited the killing of Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif, who was shot dead in Kajiado County on October 23, 2022.
Police in Kenya initially said Sharif had been mistakenly identified at a roadblock. A subsequent investigation in Pakistan reached a different conclusion over the circumstances of his death, while Kenyan police officers attached to an elite unit faced proceedings over the incident.
Methu then demanded clarity on the murder of clinical psychologist and mental health researcher Dr Victoria Nthunya Mutiso, who was shot in Nairobi’s Upper Hill area on July 29, 2026.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations said two suspects, Daniel Mwangi Njoroge and Kelvin Ngugi Kinuthia, had been arrested by homicide detectives and forensic experts probing the killing.
According to the DCI, investigators linked Njoroge to the alleged planning of the murder, while Kinuthia was accused of taking the gunman to the scene on a motorcycle that detectives later recovered.
Detectives also traced a Mini Jericho pistol to the armoury at Nderi Police Post after examining records showing the firearms held at the station.
Methu questioned whether those behind Mutiso’s killing had been helped to escape to Uganda.
“Where are the killers of Dr. Victoria Mutiso? Did you facilitate them into hiding in Uganda?”
The DCP further raised attacks involving churches, including the MCK church and PCA churches in Mwiki and Kasarani.
The party wants the government to explain the progress of investigations into the incidents and say whether suspects have been arrested and taken to court where evidence supports prosecution.
Methu also challenged the government to address allegations made by former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua instead of dismissing them because of his previous position in the administration.
“The question is not whether he was there. The question is, is what he is saying true or false?”
He said the government should release a detailed record showing how many cases of abductions, disappearances and killings have been reported since 2022, how many investigations were opened and how many eventually resulted in convictions.
For the DCP, however, the questions extend beyond security and human rights cases. The party also wants the administration judged on public spending and whether its economic policies have improved the daily lives of ordinary Kenyans.
“If William Ruto deserves another term, what precisely is the measurable improvement in the life of an ordinary Kenyan after his four-year presidency?”
Methu said the government should therefore be prepared to defend its record with facts, particularly on human rights, police conduct and national security, as Kenyans assess its performance in office.