Abduction of Standard editor raises alarm over state of media freedom in Kenya

The unprecedented abduction of The Standard Group Associate Editor Alex Kiprotich in Gilgil on Tuesday night, September 1, 2026 allegedly by officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI)’s Special Operations Unit has sent a chilling down the spine of media practitioners as the country heads into the campaign period ahead of the August 10, 2017 elections.

According to The Standard, Kiprotich, who was dumped near Masinga dam, had escaped a similar attempt on June 27.

In the latest incident, it has emerged that the two men trailed the senior editor all the way from Nairobi and made several attempts to overtake and intercept his vehicle along the Nairobi-Nakuru highway. They finally succeeded at the Gilgil weighbridge.

According to him, before he was dumped in a thicket, Kiprotich said he was assaulted as his abductors questioned him about recent headlines published by The Standard.

In the June 27 incident, Kiprotich was driving to work in Nakuru when a car intercepted him and three men in plain clothes, armed with AK-47 assault rifles, stepped out.

One opened the passenger door to check that Kiprotich was alone and then walked towards the driver’s side. The attempt failed after he locked all the doors and sped away.

According to the Committee for the Protection of Journalist, the incident came three days after President William Ruto had railed against The Standard Group. It expressed concern that it reflects the growing dangers that journalists face in Kenya, despite the president’s earlier promise to allow the press to work freely.

Relations between the government and The Standard Group have been hostile with the authorities accusing the media house of dwelling on negative stories.

The Standard newspaper has since last year been publishing stories exposing the challenges facing the Kenya Kwanza administration, coverage that has unsettled those in power.

It has seen the media house, which is majority owned by the Moi family, denied government advertising despite the fact that it owes about Sh1 billion.

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has been on its neck over tax arrears, which has nearly crippled it financially.

While the abduction might be seen as aimed as sending a warning to The Standard Group, the Media Council of Kenya says it has monitored and documented several dire cases of press freedom violations and crimes against journalists and presented them to the Inspector General of Police for investigation and prosecution of the perpetrators without success.

“The impunity for crimes against journalists in the country and increasing cases of press freedom violations is a major concern for the Council, which has repeatedly raised the matter with the relevant investigative agencies,” it said in a statement.

The Media Owners Association has called for swift, independent and transparent investigation, and for clear institutional guarantees for the safety of media practitioners in Kenya.

Also to condemn the abduction was the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), which warned against what it described as a growing culture of nighttime abductions.

It held that they undermine public confidence in the rule of law, adding that democratic progress depends on protecting constitutional freedoms, including freedom of expression and media freedom.

“For Kenya to progress and for Kenyans to be guaranteed of their freedoms under the Constitution of Kenya, the culture of abductions and particularly those carried out during nightfall should be stopped,” it said in a statement.