Technical University Students Issue 24-Hour Ultimatum Over Missing Colleagues

Students of Technical University in Mombasa, led by their student leaders on Saturday, January 4, issued a 24-hour ultimatum to the president over the abductions of young people.

While speaking to the press, the students called for the immediate release of all young people who were allegedly abducted, asking for them to be tried in a court of law.

Led by Joseph Oloo, the President of the Technical University of Mombasa Students Association, the students criticised the government for allowing abduction to happen in a democratic nation.

“We are giving the government up to Sunday evening failure, to which on Monday we shall be in the streets demanding for the release of these people,” the president of the student association warned.

The students noted the country is heavy with cries of families searching for their loved ones due to ongoing abductions of young people.

“We demand the release of our comrades unconditionally, and we are giving the government an ultimatum of 24 hours or on Monday. We shall be on the streets to demonstrate for the release of our comrades,” Mohammed Talib, a student at the Technical University of Mombasa, stated.

The students expressed dissatisfaction with the abductions, condemning the government for failing to account for the incidents which have sparked uproar across the country.

In effect, the Technical University students vowed to stand firm in solidarity with the abducted young people and their families until they are found.

“We would like to stand in solidarity with our comrades who are lost because an injury to one comrade is an injury to us all,” the student stated.

The students demanded the abduction end and that the abductees be allowed to continue with their life uninterrupted. 

“Kenya is being governed by a constitution that we were granted In 2010, and it clearly states that any detention without reasonable act is termed an adoption and false disappearance,” Justus Ogoso a student leader at the varsity, stated.

It comes as there has been mounting pressure on the government to come clean on the issue of the abductions.

Among the young people abducted recently are Gideon Kibet (aka Kibet Bull) abducted on Christmas Day together with his brother Rony Kiplang’at, and Bernard Kavuli, who went missing on December 22, 2024.

Others are Billy Wanyiri Mwangi and Peter Muteti, who have been missing since December 21, 2024.

These individuals are part of abductions that have raised significant concerns among human rights organisations and the public regarding state security actions against critics of the government.