Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen on Thursday condemned the abduction of Standard Group associate editor Alex Kiprotich as embarrassing and barbaric and demanded a swift investigation, as police denied any involvement and former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua accused the minister of ordering the attack.
Kiprotich was seized by armed men near the Gilgil weighbridge on the Nairobi-Nakuru highway on Tuesday night and found alive in the early hours of Wednesday near Masinga Dam in Machakos County, hundreds of kilometres away, after about nine hours in captivity.
Speaking at St Michael’s Secondary School grounds in Embobut, Elgeyo Marakwet County, at the funeral of his aunt, Mama Sokomo Chemeitoi KoJepkosgei, Murkomen urged Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja to strengthen protection for reporters before the 2027 general election.
“It’s embarrassing and barbaric. Whoever is involved must face the full force of the law,” Murkomen said. “I want to ask the IG that as we head into the election period, let’s provide journalists with enough security for them to perform their duties.”
He said he regarded himself as an ally of the press. “I want to assure journalists that I’m one of your stakeholders. I have benefited from working with you, and I know the good work you are doing,” he said. “If I have a problem with a journalist, I will go to court.” He urged anyone aggrieved by coverage to use legal channels.
Nine hours in captivity
Kiprotich left the Standard Group offices on Mombasa Road in Nairobi shortly after 7 pm on Tuesday. He was followed for close to 120 km by a Subaru Forester whose occupants repeatedly tried to overtake and block his car before ambushing him at the weighbridge at about 9 pm, according to the account he gave his employer.
Men carrying AK-47 rifles smashed his windows with gun butts and threatened to shoot him and his driver, he said. The driver was left stranded in Gilgil, and both men’s phones were taken and remain missing.
Kiprotich was blindfolded and driven to a thicket near Masinga Dam at about 2.30 am, where he said he was assaulted and questioned about recent Standard headlines before being abandoned.
“At 3am we received a call from right where we stand, a few metres from Masinga Dam, that Kiprotich had been blindfolded and dumped here,” Standard Group Chief Executive Chacha Mwita said. “He was told he was in Baringo and not to wake up as he had been left facing down. We came to rescue him. We are grateful to the family that gave him shelter.”
A search of the pursuing vehicle’s registration on the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) portal returns a privately owned Honda Fit registered in December 2021, indicating the plates were cloned.
It was the second attempt on Kiprotich in 67 days. He survived an earlier attack in Nakuru on June 27.
Police deny involvement
Kanja has denied that police were involved and ordered an investigation. The National Police Service said it was working to establish the circumstances and identify the armed men. Gachagua has argued that Kanja cannot credibly oversee the inquiry.
Gachagua, now leader of the Democracy for Citizens Party, alleged in a statement on X that Kiprotich was preparing an exposé on compensation money owed to Mau Forest evictees from the Kipsigis community, which he claimed had been diverted by officials acting under Murkomen and Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo.
“A late-night meeting on Monday evening between Mr William Ruto and Mr Kipchumba Murkomen sealed the fate of Mr Alex Kiprotich, where it was decided that he had to be stopped,” Gachagua said. He further alleged that Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) chief Mohamed Amin ordered surveillance of the journalist and recalled a retired officer to lead the operation.
The allegations are unsupported by publicly available evidence. Murkomen did not address the Mau compensation claims at the funeral. Omollo, Amin and the Office of the President had not responded publicly at the time of publication.
The Media Council of Kenya and human rights organisations have called for an immediate investigation, joining lawyers, media houses and opposition politicians who describe the abduction as an assault on press freedom.
Rights groups have documented a pattern of abductions and enforced disappearances in Kenya since the 2024 anti-government protests.
No arrests have been announced.
