Joshua Okayo, the President of the Kenya School of Law (KSL) Student Governing Council, has been found near the Maragua River in Murang’a County after being reportedly abducted by unknown individuals last Wednesday during the anti-Finance Bill protests.
Okayo, who appeared to have been tortured, is currently receiving medical attention at Avenue Hospital in Thika and is under close observation due to the psychological trauma he endured.
The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President, Faith Odhiambo, confirmed Okayo’s rescue on Friday, June 28, as well as the rescue of another student, Regis Wanjala, who was also abducted on the same day.
“Regis Wanjala who was abducted on the same day was also found dumped in a tea plantation in Ruiru. The two are safe but currently receiving medical attention and are still shaken up from the ordeal. We shall find recourse for these unfortunate actions of police. Justice be our shield and defender,” she said on her X, formerly Twitter, handle.
Odhiambo condemned the reported police abductions, as returning to the authoritarian era.
“This is shocking! I feel like we are going back to the Moi era; the last we heard of abductions and torture chambers. Our country is singing about and in the region people are praising Kenyans such abductions coming back. Some of the abducted persons have been released but others remain unaccounted for,” she said on a TV interview.
Odhiambo called for the immediate release of protesters in detention and urged accountability from law enforcement authorities.
The KSL Student Council Vice President, Faith Ndambuki, had earlier raised concerns over the arbitrary, unjustified and unlawful arrests and abduction of KSL students, stating that some of those abducted have been released from police custody or abandoned in the middle of nowhere.
