NAIROBI, KENYA — Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja has directed the Anti-Abduction Unit to launch an immediate investigation into the abduction of Standard Group Associate Editor Alex Kiprotich, who was forcefully taken by armed men on Tuesday night before being dumped over 200 kilometers away.
Kiprotich was intercepted on the night of September 1, 2026, after a white vehicle blocked his car along the Gilgil-Nakuru highway. Four masked, heavily armed men dragged him from his vehicle and forced him into a Subaru. He was later dumped near Masinga Dam around 2:00 a.m. on Wednesday, September 2, where he sought refuge with a local family. A recovery team led by Standard Group CEO Chaacha Mwita located him at 6:30 a.m. physically unharmed but shaken.
Responding to the incident, police spokesperson Muchiri Nyaga stated that the National Police Service (NPS) treats abductions with the utmost seriousness.
“The NPS treats kidnapping and abduction with the utmost seriousness, as these grave offences threaten the lives, liberty and security of Kenyans,” Nyaga said. “Our Anti-Abduction Unit, specifically established to address abductions and disappearances, is actively investigating and will ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice.”
The NPS also condemned the incident, stating, “We unequivocally condemn any act of kidnapping, abduction, or intimidation intended to interfere with press freedom or any other constitutional right.”
Alongside the abduction probe, the NPS pushed back against a recent report published by The Standard alleging police brutality, describing its headline as “misleading, inflammatory, and unsupported by evidence.” Nyaga noted that allegations of officer misconduct are routinely referred to the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), citing IPOA’s 2024/2025 report showing 262 cases pending in court and 42 police convictions to date.
The incident has sparked widespread outrage from media fraternity leadership, with the Kenya Editors Guild (KEG) and the Media Owners Association of Kenya (MOA) demanding swift accountability.
KEG President Zubeidah Kananu emphasized that attacks on journalists pose a direct threat to press freedom, insisting that the safety of media practitioners must not depend on whether the government approves of their reporting. Meanwhile, MOA called for clear institutional guarantees to ensure journalists can work without fear, offering to engage security agencies to protect press freedom under the Constitution.
