Belgut MP Nelson Koech Questions Credibility of Abduction Accounts
Belgut MP Nelson Koech has raised doubts about the narratives of young Kenyans allegedly abducted in December during a wave of incidents targeting critics of President William Ruto’s government.
On Monday, families of five men confirmed their release after their alleged abduction due to social media posts criticizing Ruto. The individuals include cartoonist Gideon Kibet alias Kibet Bull, Billy Mwangi, Peter Muteti, Bernard Kavuli, and Rony Kiplangat.
ALSO READ: Omtatah discloses details of Kibet Bull’s alleged abduction.
Kibet, reportedly abducted on December 24 shortly after meeting Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah in Nairobi, said he was dumped in the Luanda area of Vihiga County in the early hours of Monday. In a post on his X account, Kibet stated he attended a nearby ‘disco matanga,’ an overnight funeral dance, before booking a bus ticket home.
Koech on Tuesday poked holes at the cartoonist’s account, saying:
“You cannot be abducted, released in the morning and still be able to attend a disco Matanga. It is impossible.
“How do you party when you have been abducted; where do you get the energy? How do you look so clean-shaven and still afford a beer and dance with girls?” Koech said on Citizen TV’s Day Break program.
Besides Kibet, Kiplangat, who was also abducted in Nairobi, was found in Machakos County, while Kavuli, abducted in Ngong, was found in Kitale.
Mwangi was found in Embu town; Muteti, with whom Mwangi shared AI-generated images of Ruto in a coffin before they disappeared, was found in Nairobi city centre.
When pressed on whether he denied the young men had been abducted, Koech said:
“I am not saying they were not abducted, I am saying there are things that do not connect, something is amiss.
“Look at the faces of the people who have been reported as abducted, they look very clean. They don’t look hungry, they look clean-shaven. You cannot look strong and be able to dance after being abducted for 15 days.”
ALSO READ: Omtatah discloses details of Kibet Bull’s alleged abduction.
Koech claimed “someone is playing a game,” with the abduction ordeals and labelled it “staging an act to trigger a series of events.”
The MP urged the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to interrogate the men released on Monday, “publicly, if possible, so we can know what happened.”
Despite the release of five individuals, Steve Mbisi, also reported missing, had yet to be found.
The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) has reported 82 abduction cases since the June-July 2024 protests against Ruto’s government over punitive tax policies. As of December 26, 29 individuals remain missing.
