Nairobi — President William Ruto has maintained that he is yet to get names of persons who have been abducted or disappeared since the beginning of the antigovernment demos.
Speaking on Thursday night during a town hall meeting in Kisumu, Ruto urged any families with missing persons whose disappearances may be related to the recent protests to provide their names to the Interior Ministry for investigation.
The crackdown by security forces on protesters reportedly resulted in at least 50 deaths and hundreds of injuries, according to data from rights groups.
Ruto pledged to take action if any cases of abduction or disappearance are brought to his attention.
"If there's any family whose child, friend, or relative attended a demonstration, whether last year or this year, and never returned, I want to know the names because I will take firm and decisive action," Ruto said.
"As of now, I do not have a single name of someone who has been abducted or disappeared."
He was responding to a participant's claim that some demonstrators were still missing and that their disappearances were linked to state agents.
The President vowed that his administration would not tolerate any extrajudicial killings of Kenyans.
"Under my administration, I do not want a situation where a Kenyan disappears. There were days when people were found, 20, 30, in River Yala here, executed," Ruto stated.
"I want to promise you and the people of Kenya that under my administration, there will be no Kenyans in River Yala or any other river or place."
President Ruto emphasized that no Kenyan should be mistreated because of their political beliefs.
He noted that the constitution allows every Kenyan the right to demonstrate and express their grievances.
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"Kenyans have a right and freedom of association within the parameters of the law, and no Kenyan should be subjected to any inhumane treatment because of their political persuasion," he said.
Despite Ruto's assertions, there have been reports of abductions by individuals believed to be state agents during the protests, with some incidents occurring in broad daylight.
A report released by the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) in July indicated that 66 people were reported abducted or missing during the protests, while 1,376 were arrested.
