The mother of Gideon Kibet aka ‘Kibet Bull’ and Rony Kiplagat spoke out over the alleged abduction of her two sons and demanded their release.
Caroline Mutai, while speaking to Citizen TV, narrated the torrid time she endured during the festive season after her two sons disappeared. She noted that she ended up in hospital after suffering high blood pressure in the wake of their disappearance.
“I have been hospitalised receiving treatment for high blood pressure for close to three days and I was only discharged on December 27. Right now, I do not even have the strength to speak about my two children,” she decried.
Gideon, a cartoonist on X, was allegedly abducted for sharing silhouette images with the likeness of President Ruto and other leaders on the social media platform. His popular images have been extensively used by those who are critical of Ruto’s government.
A collage of Gideon Kibet aka Kibet Bull (left) and his brother Rony Kiplagat (right) who were both allegedly abducted with their mother Caroline Mutai (middle).
Photo
Canva
Kibet was abducted moments after meeting with Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah at his offices at Taj Tower in Nairobi after travelling from Nakuru. In the aftermath of his abduction, the Busia Senator confirmed that his security team had observed a white Subaru trailing Kibet to his offices packed just across the street.
On the other hand, it is still unclear on the reasons behind the alleged enforced disappearance of his elder brother Rony who was abducted on Saturday, December 21.
Caroline, a mother of ten, stated that she was unaware of the reasons behind her sons’ abduction and pleaded with the government to secure their release of the two stressing that she was just ‘Wanjiku’ trying to make ends meet to secure a bright future for her children.
“I was told there were things he (Gideon) was doing online but I do not know what it is. I am just a hustler who worked hard to provide for these kids and educate them so that they could later assist me,” she noted.
The abductions came at a particularly bad time as Gideon was preparing to embark on a trip to Israel to pursue his higher education studies. Caroline disclosed she had taken a significant loan to facilitate her son’s travel.
“Gideon was set to travel with some of his fellow students from Egerton University to Israel and I had already secured a loan of Ksh200,000 to help him go hoping that he would be able to help me pay back the loan during his studies,” she stated.
Kibet was set to join a team of 20 other young people for further studies on Friday, December 27, but the plan has been thrown into limbo.
“I want to plead with the government to release my sons and reveal their whereabouts because I depend on them heavily,” Caroline affirmed.
The two brothers form part of a growing statistic of Kenyans who have been abducted with their whereabouts unknown under Ruto’s government. The abductions have caused much furore online with Kenyans calling on the government to put an end to the state-sponsored enforced disappearances which Ruto vowed to put an end to.
Senator Okiya Omtatah with cartoonist Kibet Bull (left) and the cartoonist wearing a hat.
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Okiya Omtatah