Kenya police deny involvement in abductions

Kenya's police on Thursday denied involvement in the latest spate of abductions targeting government critics.

Kenyan security forces have been accused by multiple human rights groups of carrying out dozens of illegal detentions since massive anti-government protests in June and July.

Human Rights Watch said recently its research points to a shadowy unit of officers drawn from multiple security agencies, including military intelligence and an anti-terrorism unit.

The police have distanced themselves from the disappearances.

"The National Police Service is deeply concerned with the ongoing allegations that Police Officers are involved in abductions of persons in Kenya," the office of the inspector general said in a statement.

The latest disappearances have again targeted young social media users who criticised the government of President William Ruto.

Three men in their early 20s -- Peter Muteti, Billy Mwangi and Bernard Kavuli -- all disappeared over the weekend. A fourth person, who has not been named, has also reportedly been taken in recent days.

Muteti was seized by a group of men outside a shop in the Nairobi suburb of Uthiru and bundled into a car. One of the abductors was in police uniform, according to witnesses cited by Citizen TV.

He and Mwangi recently shared AI-generated images of President William Ruto dead.

The Independent Police Oversight Authority, an official body, said Wednesday that it had launched rapid response teams to the sites of the abductions in Embu, Nairobi and Kajiado counties.

The Police Reforms Working Group, an alliance of human rights organisations, called Wednesday for the government "to immediately reveal the location of these individuals, ensure their safety, and present them before a court of law or release them unconditionally."

The police, while denying its involvement, made no indication that it has made progress in identifying who is behind the abductions.

The Kenya National Commission for Human Rights said earlier this month that at least 74 people had been kidnapped since the protests, with 26 still missing.

Former Kenyan prime minister Raila Odinga, who has recently formed a governing alliance with Ruto, also called for an end to abductions on Wednesday, calling them "primitive".