Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has alleged that Standard Group Associate Editor Alex Kiprotich was abducted because he was preparing an investigative exposé on alleged corruption involving compensation funds meant for Mau Forest evictees.
Gachagua accused senior government officials of controlling operations within the National Police Service and alleged that the abduction was carried out by a rogue police unit acting on instructions from senior officials.
Gachagua claimed Kiprotich had been preparing to travel to the Mau Forest to investigate allegations that thousands of evictees had been defrauded of millions of shillings in compensation money.
Each of the evictees was to receive Sh200,000 but some claim they had been defrauded.
He alleged that officials within the National Government Administration, purportedly acting under the direction of Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen and Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo, had diverted the funds to brokers and proxies.
According to Gachagua, Kiprotich was preparing an exposé detailing how the alleged scheme operated when he was targeted.
He further alleged that a late-night meeting between President William Ruto and Murkomen on Monday, August 31, preceded a decision to stop the journalist from publishing the investigation.
There was no immediate comment from the accused persons. The police said they are investigating the incident.
Gachagua claimed the Directorate of Criminal Investigations subsequently placed Kiprotich under 24-hour surveillance and assembled a team allegedly coordinated by a retired police officer who had been recalled to service.
He alleged that the team, which he described as comprising about 60 rogue police officers, had been trained to conduct abductions, killings and cover-ups.
Gachagua also linked the alleged unit to other cases, including the abduction of a businessman in Mlolongo, the death of Rachel Wandeto and violence at several churches.
He challenged the Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja to release findings of previous investigations into cases including Wandeto’s death, attacks on Witima ACK Church, Mwiki PCEA Church and Kariobangi PCEA Church, as well as violence reported in Ol Kalou.
Gachagua accused the police leadership and the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) of failing to independently investigate alleged abuses by security officers.
He further claimed that the investigations ordered into Kiprotich’s abduction would not yield results because, in his view, the police were incapable of investigating their own senior officers.
The allegations have not been independently established, and the officials named by Gachagua have not, in the statement, been shown to have been directly linked to Kiprotich’s abduction.
Kiprotich was abducted on Tuesday night and later found abandoned in Masinga, Machakos County, after being transported from the Gilgil-Nakuru area.
The circumstances surrounding his abduction remain under investigation.
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