Kisii Family Searches for Missing Man Abducted in Nakuru 3 Months Ago: "Tumetafuta Hadi Morgue"
- A well-known youth activist has been missing for over three months after being abducted in broad daylight in Nakuru
- Zablon Osano was taken by unidentified men in Nakuru shortly after denouncing police brutality and corruption
- His brother, Dennis, told TUKO.co.ke that Osano was no stranger to danger as he had previously survived a failed abduction in Kisii
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Nakuru – For more than three agonising months, the family of Zablon Osano has lived in anguish, unsure whether their son is dead or alive.
Source: UGC
A respected civic leader and co-founder of the Nakuru Youth Accountability Forum (NYAF), Osano mysteriously disappeared on April 27, en route to a community meeting in Kaptembwo estate.
How Zablon Osano disappeared
Osano's brother, Dennis, told TUKO.co.ke that the 34-year-old was abducted in broad daylight by unidentified men in plainclothes driving a white double-cabin pickup.
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Moments before being bundled into the vehicle, he reportedly cried out that his captors were not police officers.
Dennis added that his elder brother's phone went off shortly after, and he has not been seen or heard from since.
“He shouted that they weren’t police. That’s the last we saw of him,”Victor Njuguna, a boda boda rider who witnessed the abduction shared. “It was broad daylight. Nobody helped.”
Zablon Osano was an advocate for justice
Osano’s commitment to public service began in Nairobi, where he once served as a Parliamentary Budget Officer.
But it was his activism that drew both praise and peril.
In 2024, he co-founded NYAF, a grassroots initiative aimed at exposing corruption, documenting police brutality, and offering education on constitutional rights.
“Zablon believed in peaceful resistance,” said Chief Elijah Mwangi of Kaptembwo. “He never called for chaos, only for accountability.”
Source: UGC
Osano's family torn apart
According to Dennis, Osano was no stranger to danger as he previously survived a failed abduction in Kisii, which he described as a warning for his outspoken stance on illegalities.
Back home in Kisii, the disappearance has devastated his family.
His father, Mzee John Osano, has searched tirelessly through mortuaries and police stations, hoping to find answers, if not his son, then at least his remains.
“My son was a patriot. He stood for justice,” Mzee Osano said, tears streaking his face. “We’ve looked everywhere, Chiromo, City, Nakuru Level 5. Nothing.”
Zablon’s mother, Mama Teresia, clings to memories and sleepless nights. Every evening, she holds onto her son’s old work badge, unable to eat or rest.
“Nilimwambia atulie. Aliniambia, ‘Mama, ikiwa sitasema, nani atasema?’” she recalls. (“I told him to lay low. He told me, ‘Mum, if I don’t speak, who will?’”)
Calls for accountability
Osano’s case has sparked outrage among human rights groups and fellow activists, many of whom suspect enforced disappearance.
The family claim the police have remained tight-lipped, with no formal updates on investigations, if any are ongoing.
As the days stretch into months, the silence grows heavier. For now, Zablon Osano remains another name among the growing list of activists who vanished without a trace.
Anyone with information on Osano’s whereabouts is urged to contact the family or trusted human rights organisations.
Source: UGC
Man who rescued protest victims reportedly abducted
Elsewhere, Joseph Karanja, the boda boda rider who helped injured protesters during the June 25 demos, was reportedly abducted by unknown individuals.
Karanja was caught on camera assisting a woman who had been severely injured by a tear gas canister near the GPO.
In his last known messages, the rider expressed fear for his safety, revealing that he was picked up at his gate immediately he reached home.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
