Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has alleged that the abduction of Standard Group Associate Editor Alex Kiprotich was connected to an investigation into compensation funds meant for people displaced from the Mau Forest.
Gachagua said Kiprotich had been preparing an investigative story on alleged irregularities surrounding compensation payments to thousands of Mau evictees from the Kipsigis community.
Kiprotich was abducted by armed men along the Gilgil-Nakuru road on Tuesday night. He was found safe early Wednesday near Masinga Dam, more than 200 kilometres away. His employer said he was visibly shaken by the ordeal.
In a statement, Gachagua claimed that the journalist was working on a story about millions of shillings allegedly lost from compensation funds.
“Alex Kiprotich was preparing for an assignment in the Mau Forest,” Gachagua said, alleging that the funds had been diverted through officials and their intermediaries.
He further claimed that the alleged abduction had been discussed at a meeting involving President William Ruto and Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen.
Gachagua also alleged that senior security officials had been instructed to monitor Kiprotich and that a specialised team was involved in the operation. He did not provide publicly verifiable evidence to support those claims.
The allegations come as authorities investigate how Kiprotich was seized and transported from the Gilgil area to Masinga.
The National Police Service has denied involvement in the abduction. Inspector General Douglas Kanja ordered the Anti-Abduction Unit to investigate the incident, including the identity of the armed men seen forcing people from Kiprotich’s vehicle.
The Standard Group has previously raised questions about possible police involvement in an earlier attempt to abduct Kiprotich in June. According to the media organisation, its own investigation linked the vehicle used in that incident to officers attached to the National Police Service’s Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau in Nakuru. That claim has not been independently established, and no one has publicly been held responsible.
The latest incident has intensified concerns over the safety of journalists in Kenya. Amnesty International said the abduction was particularly troubling because Kiprotich was taken at gunpoint and later abandoned far from where he was seized.
Kiprotich has since returned to safety, but key questions remain unanswered: who organised the abduction, why he was targeted and whether his journalistic work had anything to do with the incident.
Gachagua’s claims remain allegations. The police investigation is expected to establish the circumstances surrounding the abduction and identify those responsible.
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