Kisii senator Richard OnyonkaKisii senator Richard Onyonka has declined an invitation to attend the New Year eve state dinner on Tuesday at the Kisii State Lodge.
While noting that 2024 was tumultuous and painful for Kenyans, Onyonka said the country is fending the year “at a very low end"
In a statement, Onyonka said ongoing abductions, corruption and violation of the people's rights, especially to young Kenyans is sad and painful to many.
“It's sad to remember our past. It means Kenya is going back to factory settings; indeed, history repeats itself,” he stated.
The Kisii senator said he is uncomfortable with the idea
that some of them will be normal, happy and excited with colour and pomp when
other Kenyan families are agonising in pain, looking for their loved ones to
share during this season, but in vain.
“Therefore, because of my deeply held views on these issues,
I will not be attending the State New Year -Eve Dinner at the Kisii State
Lodge, on the evening of Tuesday, December 31, 2024, in my capacity as the
Senator of Kisii County. I therefore decline the invitation,” he stated.
Onyonka maintained that fidelity to the Constitution is paramount to all Kenyans.
Human rights groups, lawyers and politicians voiced concern over a fresh spate of abductions targeting government critics.
The latest disappearances have been primarily young men who have criticized the Kenya Kwanza administration.
Police have denied involvement, but activists have questioned why they appear not to be investigating the disappearances.
On Monday, protests against the rising cases of abductions and enforced disappearances of government critics were held in various parts of the country.
Demonstrators demanded the immediate release of individuals allegedly abducted by security agents and an end to unlawful arrests.
The recent surge in abductions—over 10 reported in December alone and more than 80 cases this year, according to the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights has sparked nationwide outrage.
