2 Days on the Cross: Joshua Okayo Narrates His Abduction Experience
Key takeaways
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- Joshua Okayo is the president and student leader at the Kenya School of Law (KSL).
- Okayo was reportedly abducted on Wednesday, June 26 outside his residence in Ongata Rongai.
- The law student would later face a near-death experience in the hands of his captors before he was dumped on the banks of the Maragua River in Murang’a.
- Mr. Okayo gave a blow-by-blow account of his abduction and torture in an interview with a local TV station.
- Okayo’s abduction by unknown individuals is one of several forceful disappearances that have been increasingly reported recently.
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Joshua Okayo Occupies Parliament
On Tuesday afternoon June 25th, Joshua Okayo marched alongside other Kenyans in an unprecedented occupation of Kenya’s parliament buildings.
The events, reminiscent of the 2021 US Congress invasion, shocked the world as a massive crowd of Kenyans breached the parliament buildings despite police gunfire.
Mr. Okayo witnessed some of his fellow protestors being gunned down as police struggled to keep protestors at bay.
Kenyans eventually overpowered police, stormed into parliament, and vandalized the premises in anger.
They took away the mace, ate everything at the parliament canteen, vandalized equipment, and set part of parliament on fire.
Joshua would later leave town with his friends after they had that Kenya Defense Troops were approaching the CBD to reinforce police.
Joshua Oyaro Gets Abducted in Rongai
Back at his residence in Rongai, Joshua reports that 3 different warning messages popped up on his phone.
One message in particular suggested that he flee his house as unknown people were looking for him.
Okayo would later oblige and strolled out of his house. Just 600 meters away from the house he was prompted by someone whom he thought was a colleague student.
“Okayo! Salimia watu wako was KSL bwana!” the voice called.
When he turned to greet the students, the KSL student leader was arrested and bundled into a waiting car.
Inside the car, Okayo was handcuffed and his head was covered with a hood.
In typical Nyayo-era fashion, Okayo was driven around while subjected to intense interrogation.
Some of the questions fired at him included why he and his friends were demonstrating and who was funding them.
According to Joshua, the unidentified captors also wanted to know about a protest letter he had written regarding his 2 already abducted colleagues.
The KSL student supremo had no clear answers for his abductors as he also had no idea who was funding the protests.
He explained that he was in the streets to advocate for better governance of the country.
Joshua Okaya, still hooded and in handcuffs, was later moved to a different car before they arrived in a detention cell.
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Joshua Okaya’s detention at an undisclosed location
A teary Okaya explained that he was locked alone inside the room for what seemed like an eternity.
What followed was complete and utter torture as the unknown goons descended on him with metal rods, targeting the ankles.
Again, the law student was asked the same questions on why he and his friends were protesting, who was calling the shots, and what they stood to gain from it.
The torture team also demanded to know his connection with 2 other law students who had been earlier abducted.
His phone was forcefully taken away and he subsequently lost track of time.
His tormentors took him through several rounds of utmost torture while denying him water.
Joshua Okaya dumped at River Maragua
After unsuccessfully trying to squeeze information from him, the frustrated goons removed Okaya from the room to another waiting car.
After driving for around two hours while torturing him, the student leader was thrown out of the moving car.
His helpless body rolled several times into a thicket before coming to a halt.
Joshua would later be discovered by villagers who rescued him from the jaws of death.
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Amidst painful sobs, Joshua recounted horrifying events that appear to have been taken straight from a Hollywood script.
While he gratefully appreciates his miraculous return to civilization, over 30 Kenyans remain missing in the aftermath of the recent protests.
