Mother’s Painful Search for Son 56 Days After Parliament Raid: Desperate Quest Amidst Protests and Abductions
For the past 56 days, Susan Wangari Wanjohi has endured relentless distress. She has visited every police station and major hospital in Kiambu, Nairobi, and Kajiado counties, tirelessly searching for her son, Emmanuel Mukuria Kamau.
Emmanuel Mukuria, 24, has been unaccounted for since June 25, the day protesters overran Parliament during the anti-Finance Bill demonstrations.
Mukuria was among the crowds in Nairobi protesting against President William Ruto’s government’s new and unpopular taxes.
A video obtained by the Nation shows Mukuria among protesters marching from Ngara towards the city center, marking the last sighting of him.
According to Ms. Wangari, her son was a tout, and his peers reported that they reached the city center that day. They also mentioned that Mukuria was seized outside Imenti House and forced into a police vehicle.
Ms. Wangari recounted that when police officers fired tear gas, her son and other touts fled, only to see Mukuria being taken away in a police vehicle.
She noted that while some of his friends arrested that day have since been released, Mukuria remains missing.
When Mukuria did not return home to their Sunton area residence in Kasarani sub-county, his mother reported his disappearance at Sunton Police Station, under Occurrence Book (OB) number 26/29/06/2024.
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Ms. Wangari has been searching for her son every day for the past 56 days, with only seven days where she did not actively search.
In her quest, Ms. Wangari has also checked multiple hospitals in her effort to locate her son, but her search has so far been fruitless.
She is particularly concerned because Mukuria did not have his national ID card with him when he disappeared, as he had left it at home.
Ms. Wangari had warned her son and his colleague against joining the protests, but Mukuria left with his friend that morning.
Despite everything, Ms. Wangari remains hopeful, believing that her son is still alive and that those holding him will eventually release him.
Since the protests began, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) has reported 66 cases of disappearances.
Some individuals previously reported missing have been found alive but are unwilling to discuss their experiences of abduction.
Hussein Khalid, head of Haki Africa, a human rights organization, criticized the practice of enforced disappearances, calling it unconstitutional and illegal.
On July 28, President Ruto addressed claims of abductions, urging any families with missing persons to come forward. He expressed his willingness to address such issues if they were reported.
Mother’s Painful Search for Son 56 Days After Parliament Raid: Desperate Quest Amidst Protests and Abductions