One week ago, Ndiang’ui Kinyagia told his mother he’d be offline for just an hour.
He hasn’t been seen or heard from since.
Kinyagia, a 35-year-old tech consultant and blogger behind the popular X account Daguin Dd, vanished from his home in Kinoo, a quiet suburb outside Nairobi, under circumstances that point to a troubling pattern: forced disappearances allegedly involving state security agents.
According to multiple accounts, at least ten unmarked Subaru vehicles descended on his compound on the afternoon of Saturday, 21 June. Men believed to be attached to Kenya’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) broke into his apartment without presenting a warrant. They seized phones, laptops, passports, and a yellow fever card, before locking the door and leaving behind a handwritten note bearing the DCI logo.
Since then, silence.
His mother, Margaret Rukwaro, recounted her last conversation with her son. “He replied on WhatsApp, said he’d be away briefly,” she said. “I felt something wasn’t right. By 1pm, his phone was off. I called the whole night. Nothing.”
Kinyagia had been vocal online, rallying support for the 25 June Gen-Z protests — a wave of youth-led demonstrations against the Finance Bill 2024, which sparked nationwide unrest last year. His digital footprint, followed by thousands, made him both a voice for a generation and, some fear, a target.
Silence from the State
Despite growing pressure, neither the DCI, National Police Service, nor the Ministry of Interior has issued a formal statement on his disappearance.
“We reasonably believe the police are involved or at the very least know where he is,” said the family’s lawyer, Wahome Thuku. “This disappearance is not only unlawful — it’s dangerous.”
The Law Society of Kenya (LSK), which has termed the incident an enforced disappearance, has filed a Habeas Corpus application demanding the state produce Kinyagia in court. The case will be heard tomorrow by Justice E.C. Mwita at the Milimani Law Courts.
Human rights watchdogs are alarmed. Amnesty International Kenya issued a statement urging authorities to “either charge him lawfully or release him without delay.”
“If Ndiang’ui is suspected of any wrongdoing, the law is clear — he should be brought before a judge, not held incommunicado,” Amnesty said.
#FreeNdianguiKinyagia
The outcry has grown online, with the hashtag #FreeNdianguiKinyagia trending across Kenya. Among the loudest voices was veteran lawyer and former MP Paul Muite.
“I join other Kenyans calling for the release of Ndiang’ui Kinyagia, abducted from his home despite public outcry,” he wrote on X. “This regime seeks to retain power through repression, ignoring the Constitution and the rule of law. It will fail.”
Kinyagia’s disappearance follows similar reports of protest organisers, bloggers, and even lawyers being intimidated, detained without charge, or made to vanish for days without contact. In some cases, victims later reported being interrogated, beaten, or warned not to speak.
His family has filed a missing persons report at both Kinoo and Kikuyu police stations. So far, there has been no progress — only more waiting, and more fear.
A Mother's Plea
“I want my son back. Dead or alive, I want to know where he is,” said Ms Rukwaro. “He is not a criminal. He is a Kenyan. And he has rights.”
For now, the mystery of Ndiang’ui Kinyagia’s disappearance remains unresolved. But the voices demanding justice are growing louder, unwilling to be silenced.
And in the heart of Nairobi, a mother waits.