Joshua Okayo, the Student Governing Council president of Kenya School of Law (KSL), has recounted a harrowing ordeal of abduction and torture during anti-Finance Bill protests in Nairobi.
Okayo, who was abducted for over 72 hours by unknown assailants, shared the traumatic details of his experience.
The incident unfolded when Okayo received multiple warning calls advising him to go into hiding due to impending danger. Ignoring the calls, he ventured out near his residence, where he was deceived by individuals posing as acquaintances.
“About 500 meters away from my residence, I heard someone call my name, ‘Okayo, come say hi to your KSL people,’ and I assumed they were people who knew me. As I turned to greet them, I was arrested,” Okayo recounted emotionally.
He was swiftly handcuffed, blindfolded with a black sackcloth, and forced into a waiting vehicle. For the next 30 minutes, Okayo endured relentless interrogation about the nature and motives of the protests, despite his insistence that he had no organizational affiliations or insider information.
The abductors escalated their interrogation tactics, subjecting Okayo to physical abuse by hitting his ankles with metal objects and withholding food and water.
“I was handcuffed, hungry, and thirsty, but they refused to give me water because I wasn’t giving them the answers they wanted,” he recalled.
After hours of torment, Okayo was driven for two more hours, enduring further torture including strangulation and physical assaults.
“They threw me out of the car, and I lay there unable to move until villagers found me.”
Upon regaining consciousness, Okayo discovered his phone tampered with—WhatsApp uninstalled and money withdrawn from his mobile wallet.
Since the ordeal, he has struggled with sleep and heightened vigilance in his surroundings, haunted by the traumatic memories.
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