DCI spokesman John Marete, Commissioner of Police (CP) and Deputy Director of Corporate Communications Dorothy Migarusha and Police Spokesperson Muchiri Nyaga at the launch of the Haki Kwa Wote' campaign in Mombasa on Monday /HANDOUTDCI spokesman John Marete has said enforced disappearance is not a tool of the police service, adding that any officer involved in such practices would be acting as a criminal rather than a police officer.
Speaking in Mombasa during the commemoration of the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, Marete also said some reported cases were related to trafficking and therefore did not constitute enforced disappearance.
He called for collective efforts to address the issue.
The event brought together activists, human rights defenders and families of missing persons at the MUHURI Legal Aid Clinic in Mombasa.
It also saw the launch of the ‘HAKI Kwa Wote’ campaign, with participants calling for the criminalisation of enforced disappearance and the full operationalisation of the Victim Protection Act, 2014.
According to data from the Missing Voices Coalition cited by Amnesty International Kenya, 19 cases of enforced disappearance and 69 police killings had been recorded in 2026.
The coalition documented 55 cases of enforced disappearance in 2024, compared with six in 2025. Between 2023 and 2026, it documented 86 such cases.
Khelef Khalifa, board director of Muslims for Human Rights, acknowledged areas of collaboration between law enforcement officers and civil society actors, citing peaceful demonstrations held to commemorate victims of protest violence during the Gen Z demonstrations.
However, he expressed concern over what he described as instances of police taking the law into their own hands.
Khalifa recounted the case of two former Mungiki members who sought MUHURI’s assistance and surrendered to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations. He said one of them was found dead three days later.
“Police believe it is better to kill them than take them to court,” Khalifa said.
He also questioned the use of force against unarmed protesters and raised concerns over officers allegedly disregarding court orders.
Khalifa further criticised the concealment of police identities under the guise of “special units”.
Vincent Chahale, chairman of the Missing Voices Coalition and International Justice Mission Kenya Country Director, said the coalition was determined to secure a standalone law on enforced disappearances within the next year.
He supported calls for a public inquiry into disappearances.
“Because a public inquiry will answer that question,” Chahale said.
“And it will not only answer that question, but it will settle a lot of speculations. Real and perceived things that we may have about enforced disappearances.”
He said such an inquiry would establish “the nature, the characteristics, the ingredients of enforced disappearances”, helping inform the drafting of legislation.
Happy Olal, National Convention Coordinator of the Social Justice Centres Working Group, raised the case of the Mathare Four, four men allegedly abducted by police from their residence in Mathare.
He said mothers of victims were seeking information about compensation after hearing that 600 families had received payments.
Kenya signed the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance in 2007 but has yet to ratify and domesticate it.
The absence of a specific law criminalising enforced disappearance has left prosecutors relying on offences such as abduction and kidnapping under the Penal Code, according to Julius Nyaga, a lawyer with International Justice Mission Kenya.
“So when people disappear through abduction by state security agents, it becomes difficult to push for accountability,” Nyaga said.
The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, which was represented at the event, said some victims had declined to record their names because of concerns including their safety.
The commission documented seven incidents of enforced disappearance of peaceful protesters by police on June 25, 2026, during protests marking the second anniversary of the 2024 Gen Z demonstrations.
It said six protesters were arrested outside Parliament, put into a police truck and driven away before being dumped along Langata Road and Ngong Road two days later after being severely tortured.
On August 11, the High Court directed the government to set aside Sh105 million from the compensation fund for victims of enforced disappearances, torture and abductions, pending determination of a petition challenging their exclusion from the compensation programme.
Justice Gregory Mutai noted that government communications had listed victims of fatalities, severe injuries, moderate injuries and sexual offences for compensation but had omitted victims of enforced disappearances.
“What is missing from this list is victims of enforced disappearances. I'm of the opinion that enforced disappearances and abductions are more deserving of prioritisation than the group entitled moderates and minor injuries,” the judge ruled.
The case stems from a presidential proclamation directing the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights to develop a reparations framework, which included 35 verified cases of enforced disappearance.
Amnesty International Kenya said victims of enforced disappearance had yet to receive reparations despite the State having established a compensation process.
“Behind every number is a person whose liberty was taken away, a family left searching for answers, and a community forced to confront the consequences of impunity,” the organisation said.
The organisation called for allegations of enforced disappearance to be investigated promptly, independently and transparently, and for the government to disclose the fate and whereabouts of every person subjected to enforced disappearance.
The ‘Haki Kwa Wote’ campaign was launched at the Mombasa event, with participants signing a commitment wall and calling for accountability.
“We are so determined that we will put all that we have into that process,” Chahale said.
