President William Ruto’s Senior Economic Advisor Moses Kuria has weighed in on the recent spate of alleged abductions by calling for action from civil society.
Kuria took a unique stance on the contentious issue on Friday, December 27, as he urged Kenyans to sign a two-in-one petition.
On one hand, the former Gatundu South Member of Parliament wanted the petition to put an end to unlawful abductions. However, Kuria also wanted action to be taken on the responsible use of freedoms, particularly on social media.
“More than ever before, it is time the civil society to lead a two-in-one public petition for putting a stop to unlawful abductions and responsible use of freedoms,” he said.
Former Public Service CS Moses Kuria speaking during the launch of the Customer Service Excellence Training Framework at the Kenya School of Government on June 13, 2024.
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Kuria further revealed that he targeted 10 million signatures but urged Kenyans to be objective in the two-in-one petition.
The former lawmaker’s statement came just days after police, through Inspector General Douglas Kanja, denied any involvement in the alleged abductions of some influential social media figures in recent weeks.
According to the IG, arrests by police are typically recorded in the Occurrence Book for subsequent arraignment in a court of law and If this does not happen, the suspects are expected to be released from police custody.
Kuria’s request to Kenyans to be multi-sided in the petition could have been prompted by a recent disturbing trend that has seen several AI-generated images of President William Ruto in precarious situations.
What followed after the images went viral was allegations of the abductions of some of the influential social media users, particularly on X, with videos and family testimonies backing the claims.
However, not everyone is convinced about the abductions, with Majority Leader Kimani Ichungwah and his Minority counterpart Junet Mohamed taking a harder stance by urging authorities to zero in on individuals who are ‘misusing the internet’.
Ichungwah is adamant it is within the confines of the law for police to nab individuals who spread false information on abductions as per the provisions of the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act 2018.
“We have seen others alleging that they have been kidnapped and abducted. They should also be dealt with by the authorities. Report to police incidents of abduction so that action can be taken. These are crimes in the law of the land and should not be used for political expediency,” he said.
Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja.
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NPS