Standard editor Alex Kiprotich records statement as Group demands IPOA probe into abduction

What you need to know:

• Kiprotich was abducted on Tuesday night while travelling to Nakuru shortly before 9.20pm by armed men along the Gilgil-Nakuru highway.
•  He was later found near Masinga Dam in the early hours of Wednesday.

Standard Group Associate Editor Alex Kiprotich on Friday recorded a statement over the September 1 night abduction on the Nakuru-Nairobi Highway.

Accompanied by company lawyer Gordon Ogolla, Mr Kiprotich presented himself to the South Rift Directorate of Criminal Investigations office in Nakuru to record a statement.

Mr Kiprotich and two other staff members, namely Julius Chepkwony and Geoffrey Kamau, appeared to record their statements in relation to the abduction saga that happened on September 1 along the Nakuru-Gilgil road.

They were accompanied by Standard Group Chief Head of Security Tom Kipyegon.

Mr Ogolla said his clients had decided to present themselves to investigators to facilitate investigations aimed at identifying the suspects involved in the abduction.

They also submitted the vehicle Mr Kiprotich was travelling in during the incident for forensic examination before investigators from the Forensic Crime Scene department of the DCI undertook dusting and collected fingerprints.

Mr Ogolla said the company will file a constitutional petition in court to complain about the harassment of its staff members by the executive arm of the government.

According to the lawyer, the petition, which will be filed on Monday, seeks to protect its staff members from possible physical harm by government officers resulting from their professional work.

“In the petition we will be complaining about harassment, intimidation and illegal abduction of Kiprotich. We will also be seeking conservatory orders to prevent a repeat of the incident,” said Mr Ogolla.

Mr Ogolla observed that the company was concerned when the police failed to take any action after the incident, including steps towards investigations.

“We had been made to believe that they would summon us so that the vehicle could be dusted, or they would come to where the vehicle was so that it could be dusted, but nothing happened,” he said.

Ogolla further called for the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) to take over the matter, arguing that the circumstances surrounding the abduction required an independent investigation.

“We believe this is a matter that should be taken over by IPOA as we don’t believe police can independently investigate the incident, particularly because police officers had been present at the Gilgil Weigh Bridge where the abduction allegedly took place.,” he said.

According to him, the people who abducted Alex Kiprotich are from the DCI, and he does not believe that they can investigate themselves and come up with any cogent report.

Meanwhile, Mr Kipyegon said the company had brought Kiprotich’s vehicle from Nairobi after investigators failed to collect it for forensic examination.

He said the vehicle had been secured in Nairobi, where the evidence had remained intact.

“We had kept it safe, and all the elements of evidence were present,” Kipyegon said.

He noted that detectives had dusted the vehicle and lifted fingerprints, which he said could help identify those involved in the abduction.

“Today, they have dusted, they have lifted the fingerprints. Now it is up to them to tell us and to unmask the faces, to confirm to the nation who really abducted Alex,” he said.

Kipyegon also called on authorities to produce another vehicle he said was linked to the incident and could contain further forensic evidence.

“Where is the other vehicle? Because the other vehicle also has a lot of forensic evidence that is linked to this crime,” he said.

He questioned the circumstances surrounding the transfer of ownership of the vehicle, saying the changes had allegedly been made within three hours.

Kipyegon also questioned the failure to act against police officers who had been manning the weighbridge when the abduction allegedly occurred.

“No action has been taken up to today, and we believe that those officers are known,” he said.

He urged authorities to uphold their responsibility to protect Kenyans and investigate the circumstances surrounding Kiprotich’s abduction.

“Alex is a Kenyan, he's a taxpayer, he's somebody who is doing his job. Why was he taken away? What did they want to do with him?” Kipyegon said.

He said IPOA had already reached out to the company, with officers visiting the company’s head office and another officer following up on the matter at the DCI offices.

The abduction of a senior journalist in Nakuru had renewed concerns over the safety of journalists in the county, with the incident coming barely two months after Kiprotich was allegedly targeted in a similar incident.

Kiprotich was abducted on Tuesday night while travelling to Nakuru shortly before 9.20pm by armed men along the Gilgil-Nakuru highway before he was found safe near Masinga Dam in the early hours of Wednesday.

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