Activist Mulinge Muteti: I was abducted and threatened with death during Saba Saba protests
By David Nthua, July 9, 2026Activist Mulinge Muteti has said he was threatened with death after being abducted during the Saba Saba demonstrations in Nairobi.
Muteti, writing on X on Thursday, July 9, 2026, said he had joined fellow activists in the Nairobi Central Business District to present a petition to Parliament.
“On 7/7/2026, I joined my colleagues in Nairobi CBD, where we had planned and called for a peaceful march to present a petition against extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances to Parliament.
“Even before we could start marching, I was abducted, bundled into the boot of a Subaru vehicle, beaten, and threatened with death,” Muteti wrote.
He said that after being forced into the vehicle, he was ordered to lie face down while a gun was pointed at him.
“After I was forced into the vehicle, I was ordered to lie face down with a gun pointed at me. I was then told to say my last words,” he said.
Taken towards Ngong Road
Muteti said the men discussed what to do with him as the vehicle drove towards Ngong Road.
“At that point, I tried to look outside and saw that we were along Ngong Road before one of the men beat me and ordered me to keep my head facing down,” he wrote.
According to Muteti, the vehicle later turned around and headed back towards Nairobi before he was taken to Central Police Station.
He said that despite complaining of severe pain, he did not receive medical attention before being presented at the Milimani Law Courts on July 8.
“We were charged with fabricated charges and later released on cash bail,” he wrote.
Previous ordeal
Muteti further stated that this was not the first time he had undergone such an experience.
He said that on June 25, 2026, while taking part in another peaceful assembly outside Parliament, he was abducted together with other human rights defenders, tortured for two days and later abandoned in Ngong Forest.
The activist’s statement comes days after the Saba Saba demonstrations, which were marked by heightened security, road closures in Nairobi and renewed debate over the handling of protests and civic freedoms in Kenya.