NAIROBI, KENYA — President William Ruto has claimed that all Kenyans reported abducted in recent times have been located and reunited with their families.
During a question-and-answer session at a Kenya-Finland joint media briefing held at State House, Nairobi, on Monday, May 12, 2025, President Ruto stated that his administration has implemented an accountability mechanism to address the issue. He further emphasized his commitment to preventing extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances.
Ruto also affirmed that he has issued clear and stringent directives to ensure that abduction incidents do not recur.
”There is an accountability mechanism to make sure that that situation is attended to and a proper accountability mechanism is put in place. I undertook to the country that being a democracy and robustly so, Kenyans must not, as it has happened in the past, where Kenyans disappeared and their bodies found in all manner of places, and that that will not happen under my administration. All the people who disappeared or who were abducted have been brought back to their families and their homes, and I have given clear and firm instructions that that kind of nature will not happen again,” Ruto said.
However, Ruto’s claims are juxtaposed with the ongoing plight of a family in Nakuru, who continue to seek justice for the unexplained disappearance of Brian Odhiambo Makori, a fisherman allegedly abducted by Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) officers from Lake Nakuru National Park on January 18, 2025.
Odhiambo’s whereabouts remain unknown, prompting widespread protests in Nakuru. In March 2025, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen pledged to personally investigate the case. To date, Odhiambo or his remains have not been located.
Murkomen made this commitment in Nakuru following a meeting with Elizabeth Auma, Odhiambo’s mother.
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Data from the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNHRC) indicates that at least 82 abductions were documented between June and December 2024, with some victims found deceased and others still missing.
Civil society organizations have highlighted a perceived pattern in these disappearances, with individuals who have been vocal critics of President Ruto being disproportionately targeted.
On March 26, 2025, President Ruto dismissed Justin Muturi from his position as Public Service Cabinet Secretary, reportedly due to disagreements over Muturi’s stance on abductions. Muturi had consistently denounced the government’s handling of the issue after his own son became a victim of the abduction wave.
