Three Kenyans central to a high-profile abduction case were freed, rights groups reported Friday, alleging that security forces had detained them for weeks following their participation in anti-government protests.
The trio was reportedly taken by individuals claiming to be police on Aug. 19 in Kitengela, approximately 30 kilometers (20 miles) south of Nairobi.
Social media images showed two of the men appearing visibly shaken after their release in a remote area late Thursday.
“Our partners have confirmed their release,” Cornelius Oduor of the Kenyan Human Rights Commission told AFP.
“(The images) clearly show that the men were in distress… It points to the fact that they have been in captivity.”
There has been no confirmation of where Bob Njagi, Aslam Longton and his brother Jamil Longton were held.
But Oduor said, “We strongly believe that they were taken by security agents of Kenya.”
The two brothers were dropped in a remote area outside the capital Nairobi, according to tweets from the Kenyan Law Society president, while Njagi presented himself to the Tigoni police station.
The case has dominated Kenyan media in recent days after a court in Nairobi held acting police chief Gilbert Masengeli in contempt for failing to appear to answer questions about the disappearance of the three men.
He was given until Friday to appear in court to avoid a six-month prison sentence.
“We believe (the men’s release) was intended to provide immediate grounds for (Masengeli) to challenge his conviction,” Oduor said.
The Independent Police Oversight Authority has said it is looking into multiple complaints of unlawful arrests and abductions in the wake of large-scale anti-government protests that broke out in Kenya in June.
More than 60 people died during the protests, leading to the resignation of police chief Japhet Koome.
Previous abduction cases have sparked furious protests in Kenya.
In February 2023, three police officers were handed sentences ranging from 24 years in jail to the death penalty for the brutal murder of human rights lawyer Willie Kimani and two other people.
Their bodies were found wrapped in sacks and dumped in a river outside Nairobi in June 2016.
