Activist Mulinge Muteti/SCREENGRABActivist Mulinge Muteti has recounted his ordeal after he was reportedly abducted and later found dumped in the Lukenya area of Machakos County.
Speaking from a hospital bed while receiving treatment on Friday, Muteti said the people who took him had been following him from his home and questioned him about his activism.
“Those people were following me from the house. It’s not the first time,” Muteti said.
He said those who took him asked several questions during the ordeal, making it difficult for him to establish the specific reason for his alleged abduction.
“They had so many questions, so it’s hard to know the specific reason. They abducted me and would ask me, ‘Kwa nini nimekuwa nasumbua?’” he said.
Muteti spoke a few hours after he was reportedly found, appearing visibly distraught as he described what had happened.
He was found after allegedly being dumped in the Lukenya area at around 3 am last night.
Vocal Africa director Hussein Khalid was among civil society representatives who visited Muteti and condemned the incident.
Makueni Senator Dan Maanzo, who was also present, called for action, stressing that they would pursue legal mechanisms over the matter.
Maanzo said legal avenues, including a habeas corpus application, would be considered to establish what happened to Muteti and ensure those responsible are held to account.
Habeas corpus is a legal mechanism through which a court can require authorities or another person holding an individual to produce them before the court and explain the basis for their detention.
Muteti’s account comes amid growing concern among civil society groups over the reported disappearance of other activists.
His disappearance heightened concerns, prompting his family and human rights defenders to report the matter to police and call for urgent intervention to establish his whereabouts.
Other members present included representatives of several civil society organisations, who called for investigations into the circumstances surrounding Muteti’s disappearance.
The groups also demanded the immediate release of activist Collins Otieno, who they said remained missing.
“Collins Otieno is still missing. Up to this point in time, we don’t know his whereabouts. We are asking he be released immediately and if anyone has committed any wrong, due process must take place,” Khalid said.
The groups called for Otieno’s whereabouts to be established and for any allegations against him, if any, to be handled through established legal procedures.
