The reported abduction of Standard Group Associate Editor Alex Kiprotich has renewed concerns about the safety of journalists in Kenya, with the Kenya Editors Guild calling for a swift and independent investigation.
Kiprotich was found safe early Wednesday after spending several hours in the hands of men who allegedly abducted him along the Gilgil-Nakuru road on Tuesday night.
The Standard Group said he was found near Masinga Dam in the early hours of Wednesday and later sought shelter with a nearby family. A team from the media house found him at about 6.30am.
He was described as safe but shaken. Other reports said he was taken to hospital for medical checks after being found.
The circumstances of the incident remain under investigation.
Editors call for accountability
The Kenya Editors Guild, led by its president, Zubeidah Kananu, said the case should not be treated as an isolated incident.
The guild called on State agencies to identify and prosecute those responsible if the reported abduction is confirmed. It also urged the Independent Policing Oversight Authority to exercise its oversight role and ensure that any investigation is conducted independently and transparently.
Kananu said the safety of journalists should not depend on whether those in power agree with their reporting.
“A journalist’s safety cannot depend on whether the government approves of his reporting,” she said.
She added that media freedom and the public’s right to information were inseparable.
The guild also warned that an attack on a journalist affects more than the individual involved.
“When a journalist is abducted, the victim is not the only one silenced. The entire public is silenced with him,” Kananu said.
Her comments reflect wider concerns over the ability of journalists to report on powerful institutions without intimidation or fear.
A second reported incident
The latest episode has also brought renewed attention to an earlier incident involving Kiprotich.
According to the Standard Group, armed men attempted to seize him on June 27 as he drove to work in Nakuru. The journalist reportedly escaped by locking the doors of his vehicle and driving away.
The media organisation later said its own inquiries had linked the vehicle used in that incident to the National Police Service’s Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau. That claim has not been independently established by the reports reviewed for this story, and no finding of responsibility has been announced by authorities.
The proximity of the two incidents has nevertheless intensified concerns among journalists and media organisations.
Questions surrounding the latest incident
The Standard Group said Kiprotich disappeared shortly before 9.20pm on Tuesday while travelling towards Nakuru.
A video shared by the media house and reported by other Kenyan news organisations appears to show masked men stopping the vehicle and taking him away. A voice believed to be Kiprotich can be heard asking why he was being taken.
The exact identity of the men and their motive have not been publicly established.
Police were reported to have been informed after Kiprotich was found and were investigating the circumstances of the incident.
That distinction is important. While the Standard Group has raised concerns about possible links to State agencies, there has been no publicly established finding that State officers carried out the reported abduction.
The Editors Guild’s demand therefore centres on an investigation capable of establishing what happened, who was involved and whether anyone should face criminal charges.
The wider issue
For Kenyan journalists, the case has become another test of the country’s commitment to media freedom.
The Constitution protects freedom of the media and the public’s right to information. The Editors Guild says those protections must extend to journalists regardless of the subjects they investigate or the institutions they scrutinise.
“The State has a constitutional duty to respect, protect and promote the rights of journalists,” Kananu said.
Kiprotich’s recovery has brought relief to his colleagues and family. But the questions surrounding his disappearance remain.
For the Editors Guild, the next measure of the State’s response will not be statements of concern, but whether those questions are answered through a credible investigation and, where evidence supports it, accountability.
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