Kenyan Police Tortured Arrested Protesters, Human Rights Commission Says

Last Thursday, the Kenyan government cracked down on demonstrations marking the second anniversary of a 2024 protest where 60 people were killed by security forces. People were in the streets to remember the dead — and the government responded by arresting hundreds of them.

About 355 people were arrested across the country on Thursday, according to Kenyan Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen. Most were processed through the courts. But for a small group of activists arrested outside Parliament, things took a far darker turn.

Amnesty International Kenya identified the six Kenyans — Collins Ochieng, Muteti Mulinge, Michael Ngigi, Elisha Alam, Fredrick Ojiro and Christine Walubengo — as having gone missing after being arrested on Thursday. Their families and rights groups couldn't reach them for two days straight.

Then came the grim reveal. The five activists resurfaced with injuries and were receiving treatment at Nairobi Women's Hospital after they were allegedly abducted, tortured and dumped in different parts of Nairobi. Among them were six individuals who were forced into police vehicles, passed through nine different police stations, and eventually held in captivity by unknown masked men. They were tortured for about 48 hours, warned against revealing the ordeal to journalists, and later dumped in different parts of Nairobi.

One survivor described it in chilling detail. Speaking from his hospital bed, Collins Ochieng claimed they were bundled into Subaru vehicles immediately after their arrest, blindfolded and driven for hours to an unknown location, where they were allegedly tortured during interrogation. He said they were driven fast toward Naivasha and taken to an unknown location. The men interrogating them repeatedly demanded to know who was financing the protests.

Another activist, Davis Lichuma, remained missing by Saturday afternoon, raising fresh concerns over enforced disappearances. Lichuma was eventually discovered in critical condition at Kenyatta National Hospital before being transferred to Nairobi Women's Hospital for specialized medical treatment.

Kenya's Human Rights Commission confirmed that at least six activists were brutally tortured by police in Nairobi following their arrest. Amnesty International Kenya called for immediate investigations by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority and the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights into the allegations of torture and enforced disappearances.

Here's the bigger picture you need: this isn't a one-off. Kenyan authorities have not investigated or prosecuted security forces in most cases of excessive and lethal force during protests from 2023 to 2025. A joint report by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International Kenya in November 2024 found that Kenyan authorities had failed to investigate or prosecute any police officer or government official over the killing of at least 31 people during the 2023 cost-of-living protests.

Kenya Human Rights Commission official Cornel Ernest said, "Enforced disappearances and arbitrary arrests have never stopped," adding that this time they were fortunate enough to capture incidents on camera — but that there are many cases where people disappear without witnesses.

Former Chief Justice David Maraga said that since 2024, more than 75 people, excluding those allegedly abducted in the past week, have disappeared and remain unaccounted for.

Activist Hussein Khalid, whose name reportedly came up during the torture sessions as an alleged protest financier, put it bluntly: "Compensation is not enough, and they will not hoodwink us with money. This is a call for justice, because every time there's a protest, innocent Kenyans are killed, because these killer cops are not being arrested. They're not being held to account."

Police spokesperson Muchiri Nyaga said authorities were treating allegations of enforced disappearances and torture seriously and pledged that all reports would be investigated without bias, stating that the National Police Service upholds constitutional rights and follows all legal procedures. Rights groups, at this point, have heard that before.