Days after the June 25 memorial protests, a growing dispute between human rights organisations and the National Police Service has put renewed focus on the fate of several missing Kenyans, with activists claiming some demonstrators were taken away and never seen again while police deny any involvement in abductions.
The controversy intensified on Friday after rights groups reported that four people remain unaccounted for following the protests. At the same time, seven others who had disappeared after being arrested during the demonstrations have since returned, alleging they were tortured before being abandoned in different areas.
According to Vocal Africa Chief Executive Officer Hussein Khalid, the organisation has verified four cases of people who have not been traced since the beginning of June.
"We can confirm four people have been abducted so far since the start of June. The families of Evan Omondi, Maximilian Kiarie and Michael Osura are looking for their kin who were abducted on different locations and days. We demand accountability from the National Police Service and, if arrested, the abductees be presented in courts or police stations," Khalid said.
Rights defenders say the circumstances surrounding the disappearances are troubling because some of the individuals were reportedly taken away in full view of the public during the June 25 memorial demonstrations.
Amnesty International Kenya said the seven people who later resurfaced had all been arrested openly during the Justice for Our Fallen procession. The organisation said none of them was entered into police Occurrence Books before they were allegedly found days later in different locations nursing injuries.
"Arrested in public.Never booked in the Occurrence Book. Days later, found abandoned on roadsides and in bushes, alleging torture and brutal beatings. How many more promises to investigate before there is accountability? Kenyans deserve justice, not endless commitments," the organisation said.
The rights group said the incidents raise concerns about unlawful detention and violations of constitutional protections, arguing that the sequence of events cannot be explained by normal arrest procedures.
"How does a lawful public arrest end with people being dumped on roadsides, critically injured? This is brutality and an assault on the Constitution and the rule of law. Those responsible must be identified, investigated and held accountable," Amnesty Kenya said.
The allegations have emerged even as the National Police Service continues to distance itself from claims that its officers were involved in enforced disappearances.
In a statement issued by police spokesperson Muchiri Nyaga, the Service dismissed the accusations, describing them as false, misleading and lacking credible evidence.
Police maintained that arrests carried out by officers are documented in Occurrence Books and that suspects are taken before court within the period required by law.
"The NPS does not abduct people. Its mandate is unequivocal: to maintain law and order, prevent and detect crime, protect life and property, and arrest suspects strictly in accordance with the Constitution and the law," the statement said.
As families continue searching for their missing relatives, the opposing accounts from activists and the police have left many unanswered questions, with rights groups calling for accountability and immediate disclosure of the whereabouts of anyone being held in custody.