Kioni tells off Gachagua over his remarks on abductions

Jubilee Secretary General Jeremiah Kioni has reprimanded former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua for giving an undertaking to expose those behind recent abductions.

Kioni said the former DP needs to stop “trivialising the grave issue of abductions” being witnessed in the country.

“His statements about revealing those involved, without following through with actionable disclosures, are both irresponsible and a slap in the face to the families suffering from these tragedies,” he stated.

“This is not a game, nor a platform for empty rhetoric.”

Kioni said Gachagua should either provide the nation with concrete information or refrain from making misleading statements.

“The nation deserves decisive leadership, not theatrics. Lives are at stake, and this matter demands the utmost seriousness. Playing politics with such a sensitive issue is unacceptable and a betrayal of public trust,” Kioni said on X.

Gachagua recently revisited the issue and called on President William Ruto to honour his word and release the youth who have reportedly been abducted.

He said many of the families are traumatised by the abduction of their children by a police unit.

“I am repeating again that the abduction is coordinated by a unit outside the police,” he said.

He told Police Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja to be cautious not to be misled.

The DP made the remarks as the East Africa Law Society (EALS) called for the immediate release of people who have been abducted in the region.

While decrying a resurgence of human rights and rule of law violations across the region, EALS said lawful arrests should be effected on those that security agencies believe have broken the law.

“The situation of abductions and enforced disappearances within the East African Community has reached a critical point,” EALS president Ramadhan Abubakar said.

Abubakar said human rights violations have been reported in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

He added that Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and EAC’s newest member, Somalia, also face significant human rights challenges.