A 25-year-old blogger and Tiktoker from Mombasa, Bruce John, was abducted and sexually tortured, on September 12. A group of about 20 men, believed to be Mombasa county officers, picked him up in his Bamburi home in broad daylight.
The group reportedly assaulted and sodomized the blogger repeatedly before disposing him at a dump site. In a video where he spoke of the horrific ordeal, he says they forced him to apologize for criticizing the Mombasa County government.
Documents filed in court show that in September, the victim posted on his TikTok account a video clip criticizing the Governor. His sensationalism and controversial style of blogging featured explicit insults directed at local leaders and the Mombasa Governor. He voiced out opinions of the disenfranchised community, but that did not sit well with the political elite.
Governor’s Response
Mombasa Governor Abdulswammad Nassir reacted to the news in a surprised manner while distancing himself from the heinous act.
Nassir has maintained that he is willing to cooperate with the authorities to bring the perpetrators to book.
Suspects Taken To Court
His aide and County Executive Committee Member for Lands, Mohamed Hussein, was earlier taken into custody on Sunday in connection with the blogger’s assault.
Confirming the arrest, Coast Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) boss, Adan Guyo, issued a press statement, that the suspect is linked to the gang-rape of a blogger who criticised Governor Abdulswamad Nassir. Hussein was picked up by seven men while he was having lunch with a colleague at a restaurant in Mombasa.
The other four suspects were charged at a Shanzu Court with rape and abduction of the blogger. They all denied the allegations. 11 suspects are still on the loose, and police investigations are ongoing to bring them to justice.
Abdulswamad Nassir’s mother was also mentioned in the sodomy and abduction case. Police suspect that Nassir’s mother helped some suspects escape.
DCI, LSK Issue Statements
Law Society of Kenya chair, Odhiambo, insisted that the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) get on the ground and file charges against the individuals who carried out the heinous acts immediately.
LSK also demanded that the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) bring charges against those responsible.
DCI even released a statement on the attack, promising to bring all involved to book.
“Investigations are ongoing where it is expected that more suspects who were adversely mentioned and are connected to the heinous acts will be arrested and arraigned,” read the statement in part.
“The DCI has further summoned Senior Mombasa County Government officials who are believed to have collaborated with the perpetrators of the heinous acts to establish their roles and charge them accordingly.”
Where Does Freedom End and Responsibility Begin?
Bruce John’s ordeal is a stark reminder that you can go from being a provocateur to a victim in a day, capturing the volatile intersection of politics, power, and freedom of speech in Kenya.
There is an urgent need for accountability for those in power and laws that protect content creators like bloggers who may see to trade along lines of defamation and character assassination.
The case is still in court and investigations are ongoing to bring the truth to light. Civil society condemned the criminality meted out by those in power as “indefensible”. They asserted that such actions threaten the very foundations of democracy and the rule of law in Kenya.
