Kenyan editor abducted by masked gunmen after his newspaper criticized government

Open this photo in gallery:Alex Kiprotich, an associate editor for Standard Group, who was abducted by armed men and released hours later, sits with Group CEO Chaacha Mwita, during a press conference on the abduction, at the Standard Group offices in Nairobi, Kenya, on Wednesday.Monicah Mwangi/ReutersThe abduction of a prominent newspaper editor by masked gunmen in Kenya has ignited fears of a government crackdown on dissent in one of East Africa’s last remaining democracies.Alex Kiprotich, associate editor of the Standard Group, was seized by the heavily armed men Tuesday night on a highway near the town of Nakuru. He was dumped in the bush near a dam about nine hours later, after the gunmen had repeatedly interrogated him about his editorial decisions, and was found safe, The Standard reported.The four gunmen, firing Kalashnikov assault rifles in the air, appeared to have police connections, the newspaper said. They were driving in a government vehicle, equipped with a police siren, and were waved through police roadblocks without stopping, it said.Dashcam footage posted by The Standard showed the masked men forcing a man into their car. Shouting and screaming could be heard as the men pointed their weapons.Just two months ago, Mr. Kiprotich narrowly escaped an attempted abduction by gunmen driving a police intelligence vehicle with links to the earlier disappearance of government critics, according to The Standard.“Mr. Kiprotich has been at the forefront of our editorial output, including reporting that has scrutinized the conduct of the state, and tonight’s abduction bears all the hallmarks of a targeted attack on a journalist for doing his job,” said Chaacha Mwita, the chief executive officer of the Standard Group.“We believe it may be linked to elements within the state seeking to intimidate this group into silence,” he said in a statement Wednesday.Open this photo in gallery:Mr. Kiprotich is welcomed by his colleagues before a press conference on his abduction.Monicah Mwangi/ReutersThe attempted abduction in June “came days after President William Ruto publicly criticized this group over its coverage,” Mr. Mwita said. “No one has ever been held to account for it.”The Standard has sparked Mr. Ruto’s ire by reporting critically on government corruption and police brutality. On Wednesday, for example, it published a banner headline, “Killings shock,” about the reported deaths of 3,985 Kenyans at the hands of the police over the past four years.In a social media post in June, Mr. Ruto complained that the newspaper was running “extortionist propaganda headlines.” He accused it of “blackmail” and “greed.”Kenya has traditionally been a strong democracy with a vibrant media and civil society sector. But its neighbours, including Tanzania and Uganda, have become increasingly authoritarian in recent years, often jailing or killing dissidents, and there are worries that Kenya could be heading in a similar direction.Kenyan police reacted violently to youth protests in 2024, arresting and shooting many of the protesters and killing more than 20 people. Since then, more than 80 political activists or government critics have been abducted or have disappeared, according to human-rights groups.Muchiri Nyaga, a spokesperson for the Kenyan police, said the police have launched an immediate investigation into the abduction of Mr. Kiprotich to determine the identity of the armed assailants. “We unequivocally condemn any act of kidnapping, abduction, or intimidation intended to interfere with press freedom or any other constitutional right,” he said in a news release.Media groups and human-rights advocates were outraged by the abduction. “This attack, coming two months after an earlier attempt to abduct Kiprotich, is a shameful indictment of the Ruto government’s increasing disregard for press freedom,” said Angela Quintal, Africa director of the U.S.-based Committee to Protect Journalists, in a statement Wednesday.The Kenya Editors Guild and the Media Council of Kenya both denounced the abduction, calling it an assault on media freedom and the latest sign of a disturbing trend in the country.The Kenya Human Rights Commission, an independent group, said the police are operating secret squads of masked men who kill and abduct people. “The chilling video of Kiprotich’s abduction has placed William Ruto’s regime’s brutal and clandestine policing tactics in full public view,” it said in a statement.