AfriPulse
Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo addresses the the second contingent of Kenyan officers returning from Haiti under the Multinational Security Support Mission
Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo has dismissed allegations that the government has a hand in the abduction of activists. He said the Ruto administration no longer tolerates enforced disappearances and that such practices have no place under the rule of law.
Omollo argued that the so-called “abduction culture” ended with the previous administration. He said security agencies now manage protests in line with the law and that people arrested during demonstrations are taken through the justice system rather than subjected to enforced disappearances.
“The abduction culture is long gone. We had that challenge in the last administration, where people were being abducted while others were being found in rivers,” Omollo said. “Since we took over the government, President William Ruto has been clear that there will be nothing like that.”
He added that recent protests showed the government’s approach to lawful demonstrations.
“The other day, we had peaceful protests. Kenyans who wanted to demonstrate peacefully did so, while those with a different intention also went ahead,” he said. “Those who were arrested were taken to court, not just recently but also during previous protests.”
PS Omollo alleged that some people have made false claims of abduction in an effort to portray the government as indifferent to Kenyans’ welfare.
“We have also had people who claimed they were abducted, but in the end, you find that they were hiding themselves in a bid to make it appear that the government is not keen on the well-being of Kenyans,” he said.
Omollo maintained that no state-sponsored abductions have occurred under President Ruto’s leadership. He urged families of missing persons to report the cases to police, adding that the law provides clear steps for investigation.
“There are no abductions under the watch of President Ruto. If anyone is missing, the law is clear. The matter should be reported as a missing person’s case, and if there is evidence that someone was abducted, it is important to indicate who abducted them so that investigations can be carried out,” he said.
He also described some incidents as “purported abductions,” arguing that the individuals involved deliberately went into hiding before later resurfacing.
“The cases that I would call purported abductions are people sleeping or locking themselves in their bedrooms before coming out to claim they were abducted,” he said.
Omollo further called on the media to help identify people he said were staging abductions. He claimed some lock themselves indoors or seek hospital treatment, then reappear to allege that the government was behind their disappearance.
“The media should help us call out some of these characters. Until today, we are yet to hear anyone call out those who lock themselves in their bedrooms or admit themselves to hospital, causing unnecessary anxiety to make the government look bad,” he said.
He concluded by stating that the government respects constitutional rights, including the freedom to criticize it and hold peaceful demonstrations, as long as people operate within the law.
Source: NairobiWire.com | Read the Full Story…
