A few hours before the planned demonstrations today, several anti-Finance Bill social media influencers and content creators are reported missing. It is alleged that they were abducted in the dead of the night before the demos. At least ten people were rounded up on Tuesday and are still reported missing.
The X activists who are reportedly abducted include Drey Mwangi, TemperCR7, Harriet, Shad, Franje, Worldsmith, and Hilla254.
This is seen by many as a strategy by the government to derail the demonstration spirit and plans that were underway. Among those taken is political satirist and newspaper columnist, Gabriel Oguda. Oguda has been at the forefront of calling out the Kenya Kwanza government on issues affecting the common man. He is most popular on X and Facebook and has thousands of followers who follow his updates religiously.
Oguda’s update at 2.18 AM “Guys. Cops are at my gate,” took people by surprise and shock given the timing.
His brother Zachary Oguda, confirmed the same news minutes in a tweet at around 2.53 AM.
“I can confirm that my brother has been taken by unknown gunmen from his house 5 minutes ago,” Zachary Oguda, Gabriel’s brother.
“Any tweets coming from Gabriel Oguda were already scheduled. HE ISN’T SAFE.”
#RejectFinanceBill2024 has gone global with 3.59 M posts making it the most trending topic in East Africa.
The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) is threatening to expose rogue police officers behind the illegal abductions. LSK President, Faith Odhiambo, issued a statement:
Reject Finance Bill 2024 Protests
“Over the last 72 hours, Kenya has been drawn back to the dark era of a rogue, irrational police force operating through repressive, retrogressive, clandestine, illegal, extra-judicial tactics to forcefully quell public dissent against misgivings of government, lapses in governance, and more specifically, the contentious Finance Bill 2024,” said Odhiambo in the statement.
Shad Khalif, a vocal X activist, was abducted outside a shopping center in the South B, Nairobi. Osama Otero was also abducted around the same time. They are popular for hosting X Spaces opposing the proposed Finance Bill 2024. The hashtags #FreeOguda, #FreeOsama, and #RejectFinanceBill are trending right now ahead of the demos.
Mobilisation to free all the abductees is ongoing with people contributing and sharing information that can be helpful. The demos are also underway as Parliament plans to pass the controversial Finance Bill today.
