BY SANDRA MULOMI
When Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja denied knowledge of police involvement in the abduction of Standard Group Associate Editor Alex Kiprotich on Tuesday night, he may have been speaking in good faith.
“Police can never abduct a newspaper editor. Police can only undertake a lawful arrest and present the suspect in court. It is not police who abducted Kiprotich,” Kanja told a journalist shortly after the incident.
But the circumstances surrounding Kiprotich’s ordeal have since raised fresh questions about the activities of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations’ Operation Support Unit (OSU), an elite team whose officers have repeatedly been accused of operating beyond the conventional police chain of command.
Kiprotich was seized shortly before 9.20pm on Tuesday along the Gilgil-Nakuru highway while travelling towards Nakuru. A white Subaru reportedly blocked his vehicle before armed men in civilian clothes surrounded him and forcibly dragged him out.
Dashcam footage from Kiprotich’s vehicle showed the men, some carrying assault rifles, forcing the journalist into their vehicle. He was driven away and his whereabouts remained unknown for several hours.
He was eventually found safe near Masinga Dam in Machakos County, more than 200 kilometres from where he had been taken. He appeared shaken and was taken to hospital for medical assessment. The Standard Group said the abductors had demanded that he disclose the newspaper’s sources.
The incident has since acquired a disturbing dimension after one of the men captured in the footage was identified as Police Corporal Ronald Chemosit, an officer attached to OSU. Other officers allegedly involved have also been linked to the unit, while the Subaru used in the operation is reportedly associated with OSU.
The development has placed renewed scrutiny on Commissioner of Police Zachary Kariuki, who heads the unit.
Kariuki, who previously served as former President Mwai Kibaki’s official driver, has emerged as one of the most powerful figures within the DCI’s operational structure. OSU was established in late 2022 and has subsequently been involved in numerous controversial operations across the country.
The DCI itself describes OSU as an elite operational team involved in intelligence-led investigations and arrests.
Kariuki’s rise within the security establishment has always attracted attention because of his background, having served as former President Mwai Kibaki’s official driver before suddenly becoming head of a crack unit charged with the responsibility of handling complex cases without going through any investigations class.
In one publicly recalled incident, Kibaki was heard admonishing Kariuki over the manner in which he was driving his vehicle. In a remark delivered in Kiswahili, the former President referred to him as “pumbavu”—loosely translated as “a fool”—while directing him to reverse the vehicle.
“Huyu anapeleka gani langu wapi? Muambie arudishe pale imekuwa hapa nyuma. Yeye ni pumbavu kabisa. Hata ingawaje mvua inanyesha, sisi hatujatoka hapa,” Kibaki was heard saying.
Loosely translated, the former President was asking why Kariuki was taking his vehicle away and directing him to return it to where it had been parked, before adding that he was “a big fool” and that, despite the rain, they had not left.
The decades-old episode offers a glimpse into Kariuki’s long career around the country’s political and security establishment. Today, however, it is his role as head of OSU—and the extraordinary powers officers say he exercises within the unit—that has placed him under renewed scrutiny following the alleged abduction of Kiprotich.
Several former and serving officers have raised allegations about how Kariuki runs the unit, including claims of intimidation, selective deployment and preferential allocation of operational allowances.
In a memorandum to the Inspector General earlier this year, 15 OSU officers complained about what they described as a hostile working environment, unfair deployments, discrimination in allowances, intimidation and harassment.
“The issues raised herein relate to alleged unfair deployment practices, inequitable distribution of operational allowances, unsafe duty conditions, and an environment that discourages officers from raising legitimate concerns,” the officers stated.
They further alleged that operational per diems were selectively allocated.
“Operational per diems are reportedly allocated to only a specific group of officers, while others performing similar duties are excluded without clear justification. This has created a perception of favoritism and has negatively affected morale within the unit,” they claimed.
The allegations are not confined to an internal memorandum. In a 2025, a police officer who had served under Kariuki alleged that he was subjected to unfair treatment, harassment and discrimination, including being assigned to guard duties at the main entrance for months after Kariuki allegedly expressed displeasure with him.
Another officer, Police Constable Gabriel Kuria, is alleged to have written requesting a transfer because of what he described as continuous harassment and intimidation.
“I humbly request for a transfer from the said unit due to continuous harassment and intimidation from my immediate supervisor,” Kuria stated, according to the letter cited in the complaints.
The claims have painted a picture of a unit in which Kariuki allegedly wields considerable influence over deployments and the officers working under him.
The structure of OSU has also attracted questions. Unlike other operational formations that fall under the conventional Operations Directorate, allegations contained in the officers’ complaints suggest that Kariuki enjoys unusual access to senior decision-makers and that the unit operates with considerable autonomy.
Claims that Kariuki takes direct instructions from DCI Director Mohamed Amin and State House, however, remain allegations and would require documentary or official confirmation.
Neither Amin nor State House has publicly acknowledged such an arrangement though corroborations from DCI officers indicate that Kariuki’s word to Amin is treated as final and cannot be challenged.
Amin has repeatedly denied that DCI officers are involved in unlawful abductions.
“We uphold the constitutional rights, standards and the fundamental rights of freedom, we don’t abduct,” Amin said in October 2024, insisting that the DCI arrests suspects and presents them before courts.
Yet the repeated allegations of unlawful arrests and disappearances have continued to haunt OSU under Kariuki.
During the Gen-Z protests in 2024, human rights organisations documented numerous cases in which activists and government critics were allegedly abducted by armed or masked men believed to be security officers.
Among those seized were activist Bob Njagi and brothers Aslam and Jamil Longton, who were held for 32 days before being released. Human Rights Watch said the three described being held incommunicado and subjected to physical and psychological abuse.
Other reported cases included Billy Munyiri Mwangi, Ronny Kiplangat, Bernard Kavuli and Peter Muteti, who were later found alive after being reported abducted. Cartoonist Gideon Kibet, popularly known as Kibet Bull, and Steve Mbisi were among those whose whereabouts were at one point unknown.
The alleged modus operandi was remarkably similar: men in civilian clothes, sometimes wearing masks or hoods, would intercept targets using unmarked vehicles, force them inside and drive away before switching vehicles or taking them to undisclosed locations.
Human Rights Watch documented allegations that some detainees were held in unregistered locations, including houses, forests, abandoned buildings and warehouses, for periods far exceeding the constitutionally permitted 24-hour period before presentation in court.
Besides accuses over its involvement in abductions, Kariuki’s OSU has also been linked to the Ol Kalou by-election violence where officers under him traversed in the constituency in high end 4 x 4 V8 prados unleashing terror in opposition strong holds.
Kariuki’s influence is also reflected in the size and structure of the unit he commands. OSU has 47 officers, among them two inspectors, Njoroge and Karanja; two sergeants, including Githinji Itegi; and 10 corporals and 26 police constables.
The unit’s command structure has, however, become a subject of scrutiny, particularly claims that Kariuki operates outside the conventional operational chain of command.
Unlike other specialised operational formations, including the Operation Action Team (OAT), which reports to the Director of Operations, Assistant Inspector General of Police Samson Kiptum, Kariuki is alleged to have established a direct reporting arrangement with DCI Director Mohamed Amin and officials at State House.
More perplexing, is the fact that Kariuki is the only police, out of more than 150, 000 officer, retained in serving after having attained the mandatory retirement age 60.
Kariuki, despite being junior in rank to Kiptum, is said by officers familiar with the unit’s operations to exercise considerable autonomy, including determining deployments and deciding which officers serve under him.
The allegations, if substantiated, would raise serious questions about the chain of command governing one of the country’s most heavily armed operational units.
The controversy surrounding OSU has been compounded by an earlier case involving Kariuki and several officers under his command.
In February 2024, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions approved the prosecution of Kariuki, Chief Inspector Alexander Makoma, Sergeant Francis Singila and Constables Chemosit, Gabriel Kuria, Jeremiah Chumba and Julius Lemayan over alleged torture and wounding of businessman Abdullahi Abdille Isaack.
Isaack alleged that the officers intercepted him at a Total petrol station in Hurlingham, forced him into their vehicle and assaulted him before detaining him. He further alleged that they took his national identity card and Sh1.94 million in cash. The ODPP said an independent review had established sufficient evidence to sustain the torture charges, with the file subsequently handed to the Independent Policing Oversight Authority after delays in effecting the arrests.
The presence of Chemosit—one of the officers named in that earlier prosecution decision—in footage surrounding Kiprotich’s abduction is therefore likely to intensify scrutiny of OSU and its command structure.
The latest incident has also revived questions about accountability for abuses allegedly committed during the 2024 protests.
A panel chaired by Prof Makau Mutua recommended compensation for victims of human-rights violations arising from demonstrations and public protests. The government has since established a compensation programme, with hundreds of victims receiving payments. Importantly, the panel has stressed that compensation does not replace accountability mechanisms.
President William Ruto has himself acknowledged the need to address abuses, saying, “A nation does not heal by choosing whose pain matters.” He added that healing required “acknowledging all suffering, pursuing justice for all and committing itself to doing better.”
The Kiprotich abduction has now placed those assurances under renewed scrutiny.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has described the incident in unusually strong terms, promising action against anyone found responsible.
“It’s embarrassing and barbaric. Whoever is involved must face the full force of the law,” Murkomen said. He also urged Kanja to enhance the security of journalists as Kenya approaches the 2027 General Election.
Media organisations have similarly demanded an independent investigation. Media Owners Association chair Agnes Kalekye said: “No journalist should be abducted, threatened or interfered with for doing their work.”
Kanja has ordered immediate investigations into the incident, with police spokesman Muchiri Nyaga saying the National Police Service was seeking to establish the identity of the heavily armed men and determine what happened.
That investigation will now have to answer a central question: if the men who seized Kiprotich turn out to be serving police officers, who authorised the operation, under whose command was it conducted and why was a journalist allegedly taken away without a warrant, charge or presentation before a court?
Those questions could ultimately determine whether the Kiprotich case becomes another unresolved chapter in Kenya’s long-running abduction controversy—or the moment the chain of command finally catches up with Kariuki’s powerful police unit.
