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Kenya minister urges abduction probe as bodies discovered
Kenya minister urges abduction probe as bodies discovered
Kenya's public service minister, who has accused the intelligence agency of kidnapping his son, called on the president Friday to investigate a wave of kidnappings and extrajudicial killings that have sparked widespread anger across the East African country.
Scores of people have been kidnapped, with the abductions targeting government critics and protesters who took part in massive youth-led rallies against President William Ruto's government in June.
Justin Muturi's call for a public commission of inquiry long sought by rights groups came a day after the bodies of two missing young men were found at a morgue in Nairobi.
It also came after national police chief Douglas Kanja finally appeared in court after weeks of summons to face questions about the abductions and why the pair disappeared last month.
But in court, Kanja insisted that the country was "safe" and that he did not know where the young men were.
The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights has recorded more than 60 extrajudicial killings and 89 abduction cases since the June protests, with 29 people still missing.
Muturi, a former attorney general, said "the buck must stop somewhere".
"Mr President, I am calling upon you now to order an end to these abductions and extrajudicial killings, which you promised, and open an inquiry to examine into how these things have been happening," Muturi said at the morgue alongside the families of the dead men, identified as Justus Mtumwa and Martin Mwau.
This month, Muturi said he had to ask Ruto to intervene to get his son Leslie released.
Leslie Muturi was abducted in June, and his father has blamed Kenya's National Intelligence Service.
Police deny involvement, but rights groups have accused a shadowy unit drawn from police, intelligence, counterterrorism and other agencies for the abductions.
The Law Society of Kenya and a police reforms group said in a joint statement they were "horrified" by the discovery of the bodies and called for an independent autopsy.
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