The reported abduction of Standard Group Associate Editor Alex Kiprotich has prompted fresh demands for an investigation, with KANU warning that the incident raises serious questions about press freedom and the safety of journalists in Kenya.
Kiprotich was found safe on today Wednesday morning, hours after he reportedly disappeared while travelling along the Gilgil-Nakuru road on Tuesday night.
The Standard Group said he was found near Masinga Dam after being dumped there. He later sought shelter at a nearby household before a team from the media organisation located him at about 6.30am. The company said he was safe but visibly shaken by the ordeal.
The circumstances surrounding his disappearance have not been fully established.
KANU Secretary-General George Wainaina described the reported abduction as “brazen and disturbing” and called for an independent investigation into both the latest incident and an earlier attempt to abduct Kiprotich.
Wainaina said the June incident should not be overlooked. Kiprotich had reported that attempt at Menengai Police Station, according to KANU.
“This is not an isolated incident that can be dismissed with the usual assurances and expressions of concern,” Wainaina said.
He questioned why no one had been held responsible for the earlier incident and urged authorities to establish what happened in both cases.
The latest incident has heightened concern within Kenya’s media industry, particularly because it came only about two months after the earlier reported attempt against Kiprotich.
According to the Standard Group, armed men intercepted Kiprotich along the Gilgil-Nakuru road shortly before 9.20pm on Tuesday. The organisation said he was later found near Masinga Dam, more than 200 kilometres from where he was reportedly taken.
The Standard Group has also reported that Kiprotich told colleagues he had been held by four masked men carrying rifles. He reportedly said his captors questioned him about the organisation’s journalism and editorial decisions. Those claims have not yet been independently established.
The media organisation has previously said Kiprotich survived another alleged abduction attempt in June. In that case, armed men reportedly tried to force him from his vehicle as he travelled to work in Nakuru.
KANU said the two incidents should be investigated together.
“No person should be subjected to arbitrary detention or simply made to disappear,” Wainaina said. “Abduction cannot be an instrument of law enforcement. It is a violation of the law.”
The party called for a thorough, independent and transparent investigation and said journalists should be able to carry out their work without intimidation.
For now, Kiprotich’s safe return has brought relief to his colleagues and family. But questions about who took him, why he was targeted and whether the earlier incident is connected remain unanswered.
Those questions will require evidence rather than speculation. The investigation, if opened, will be crucial in establishing what happened during the hours Kiprotich was missing and whether anyone should be held accountable.
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