ADVERT 
ADVERTHuman rights activist Boniface Mulinge Muteti is recovering in hospital after emerging alive from a four-day ordeal in which he says he was tortured, starved, blindfolded and subjected to physical abuse by unidentified men.
Mulinge was found in the Lukenya area of Athi River on Thursday night, according to his family and human rights advocates. He was reportedly dumped by the roadside, weak and unable to walk properly, after spending four days in captivity.
Speaking from his hospital bed, the activist described the experience as one of the most brutal encounters of his life.
He said his ordeal began after he left home to print documents connected to a petition during demonstrations in Nairobi demanding the release of Ugandan opposition figure Dr Kizza Besigye.
According to Mulinge, he believes he had been followed before being intercepted and taken away by men whose identities he could not establish.
ADVERTHe said he was blindfolded throughout much of the ordeal and had no idea where he was being held.
The activist alleged that his captors repeatedly assaulted him, deprived him of food and burned his feet.
He further claimed that his abductors questioned him about his activism and why he was allegedly “interfering with the government.”
After days without food, Mulinge said he became extremely weak. His captors also shaved his hair before abandoning him in Lukenya during the night.
By the time he was found, he was reportedly struggling to walk and required medical attention.
The allegations have triggered renewed concern among human rights organisations and activists over the safety of government critics and civic actors in Kenya.
Family lawyer Dan Maanzo said the circumstances surrounding Mulinge’s disappearance and subsequent dumping demanded a serious investigation. He alleged that leaving the activist in an isolated location exposed him to further danger, although those allegations have not been independently established.
The case has also taken a more worrying turn because another activist, Collins Otieno, remains missing.
Otieno reportedly disappeared after going to a police station to report Mulinge’s initial disappearance. Human rights campaigners have raised allegations that he may be in state custody, but that claim has not been independently established.
Vocal Africa director Hussein Khalid said pressure would continue for authorities to account for Otieno and secure his safe return.
The two cases have therefore become intertwined: one activist has resurfaced bearing visible injuries, while another remains unaccounted for.
Mulinge’s family is demanding answers from the authorities and appealing for greater protection for activists.
His sister, Gloria Mwende, said the family was relieved to have found him alive but remained deeply concerned about his condition and the continued disappearance of Otieno.
The allegations come at a particularly sensitive time for Kenya, where questions surrounding enforced disappearances, alleged abductions and the treatment of protesters have repeatedly generated public debate and calls for accountability.
However, the allegations surrounding Mulinge’s ordeal and Otieno’s disappearance require independent investigation before responsibility can conclusively be assigned to any individual, institution or government agency.
What is beyond dispute is that Mulinge has emerged from the experience requiring medical care, while the whereabouts of Otieno remain a matter of urgent concern.
The immediate test for the authorities is therefore not simply to respond to public outrage, but to establish what happened.
Who took Mulinge? Where was he held? Who interrogated him? Who inflicted the injuries he describes? Why was he abandoned in Lukenya? And where is Collins Otieno?
Those questions now demand credible answers.
For Mulinge’s family, the ordeal is far from over. His physical recovery may take time, but the larger question confronting Kenya is whether citizens who engage in activism and political or civic advocacy can do so without fear of disappearing into the shadows.
The discovery of one missing activist alive should bring relief. It should not end the search for the truth.
