In response to the recent disappearance and return of blogger and tech advocate Ndiang’ui Kinyagia and the tragic case of Albert Ojwang the Nakuru Human Rights Defenders Network has issued a powerful statement urging the public to look beyond judgment and instead question the system that drives people into hiding.
“We urge the public not to judge survival but to examine the conditions that made Ndiang’ui Kinyagia feel hiding was the only way to stay alive.”
The statement paints a grim picture of today’s Kenya, a place where simply speaking out can put your life at risk. The group describes how digital activists vanish, homes are raided by plain-clothed officers, and some people are later found dead. These are not isolated incidents, they say, but signs of a deeper national crisis.
“We live in a time when speaking out has become a risk, and survival has become an act of resistance.”
From a mental health perspective, the decision to go into hiding is described not as weakness, but as a “natural fight-or-flight response” to an environment where justice is uncertain and fear is widespread.
“This response is consistent with what mental health professionals identify as acute trauma coping behavior, triggered when a person feels hunted, unheard, and unsafe.”
The group strongly condemns enforced disappearances and links them to similar patterns in countries like Mexico, Belarus, and Uganda — warning that Kenya must not follow the same path.
“Enforced disappearances — such as those involving Albert Ojwang, Willie Kimani, and now near-misses like Kinyagia — are not mere legal issues. They are crimes against the human soul.”
The statement calls on multiple arms of government and the public to act:
“To the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI): Your mandate is to uphold the law not to undermine it… The Kinyagia raid is a stain on due process.”
“To the Judiciary: You are the last hope for justice… initiate public inquiries into these disappearances and demand personal accountability from those who abuse power.”
“To the National Police Service: You cannot serve and terrorize at the same time… Reforms must go beyond training they must include vetting, prosecution, and cultural transformation.”
“To the Political Leadership: You were elected to protect the Constitution not to protect silence… History will remember who stood up and who looked away.”
“To the Kenyan People: Do not be distracted by noise or manipulated into blame… Let us remember: the problem is not fear the problem is what causes it.”
The group recommends that;
“Create an Independent National Task Force on Enforced Disappearances and Extrajudicial Killings.”
“Provide psychosocial, legal, and financial support to survivors and families of victims.”
“Hold all security agencies to constitutional oversight no exceptions.”
“Protect digital and civic spaces, where young voices express their right to protest and organize.”
“Educate and empower communities on constitutional rights and how to document violations.”
“Survival is not betrayal it is testimony. It tells the world what we had to endure just to stay alive.”
“We urge every Kenyan to stop asking ‘Why did he hide?’, and start asking ‘What kind of country makes hiding necessary?’”
The message is simple: Kenya must rise not through fear, but through justice, truth, and accountability.
