These endless abductions are a roguish blemish on all our states

Titled “Abductions: Between law and anarchy,” Jeff’s programme brought together Charles Owino, described as a ‘retired” spokesman for the Kenya police; Irungu Hughton, executive director, Amnesty International Kenya; and Maria Sarungi-Tsehai, a Nairobi-based Tanzanian human rights activist who was recently abducted in Nairobi. The conversation was based on her abduction and other related issues.

A few weeks ago, Nairobi played host to another high profile abduction, that of Uganda’s veteran opposition leader, Kiiza Besigye, who was picked from a Nairobi street and forcibly renditioned across the border where his old nemesis, Yoweri Museveni, gleefully received him and threw him before a military tribunal to try him on charges of treason.

Read: Besigye kidnapped in Nairobi and now held in Kampala, says wife Byanyima

From Maria’s account of her experience in the hands of her abductors, it looks like she had been on the verge of being made to cross the border into Tanzania to be gifted to Samia Suluhu Hassan to be handed to whatever Tanzania have as equivalent to Yoweri’s court martial.

Irungu’s concern was that abductions were becoming too common in Kenya – a view shared by Jeff, and, obviously Maria too – but Owino’s major concern was “national unity,” “ patriotism” and the respect due to the president, and my view of the discussion is is that the two sides, while all the time polite, never quite agreed on the nexus between these two.

For instance, Owino was apparently of the view that because the president — of Kenya, that is, but of whatever other country— is the symbol of national unity and guarantor of peace and tranquility, to denigrate him in any way — including depicting him unfavorably in newspaper cartoons—is an invitation to harsh acts on the part of government, without expressly justifying abductions.

I thought this was an edifying programme that should be watched by many in our country and region, especially in these days when the issues relating to abductions and extrajudicial killings are rampant everywhere.

One of the most poignant things coming out of this conversation is that Maria thanks Kenyans for their being ready to help even people they do not know, a striking example of “who is your neighbour” of Jesus’ famous parable.

But more important in this eternal conversation is to situate relationships and assign responsibilities, even in the overheated brains of our political brigands. In the neighbourhood where the Fahrenheits sometimes go over twice the boiling point, such as we saw in the case of one Kenyan parliamentarian, who said, in the presence of President William Ruto, that if he were given the chance he would kill 5000 youth protesters on a daily basis!

To say that this kind of talk is irresponsible hyperbole on the part of a deranged political thug may sound reassuring, but the message is out there: If you can kill one or two, or 10, or 30 of these trouble makers, why not just scale up?.

All over the region you get echoes of the same wish to do away with “unwanted” elements, such as when a once-disgraced sycophant of the Magufuli era in Tanzania and who is now making his way into Samia’s favour by uttering calls to murder against people he perceives to be Samia’s enemies( including said Maria) and no one as much as tells this timeserver to please just shut the beak!

Read: Tanzanian activist Maria Sarungi recounts her abduction in Nairobi

In this elastic region we belong to a political habitat that is as volatile as it is promising in potential of every kind. If chaperoned with adroitness, it could look like the nucleus for a plausible African continental polito-economic reality Kwame Nkrumah may have dreamt of when he called for Africa’s unity.

But, left in the hands of the kleptomaniacal plunderers currently occupyimg our government chancelleries, we could be looking at a future too terrible to contemplate.

The conversation I watched on JK Live – please catch it on YouTube—was edifying, as I said, even if from time to time harsh and sarcastic words were exchanged among the Kenyan part of the panel; generally though, it was all in good part, except where the erstwhile police commander sounded like it was the people of Kenya wo owed allegiance to their government rather than the reverse, and when the top cop introduced the thought of the “alleged abductions,” which his fellow panelists were naturally inclined to mock.

Between Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania we have tens of people who cannot be accounted for, and their folks have been trying to locate for some time now. Rather than complain about the bad behaviours of youth depicting our rulers in mock coffins , let’s be talking about releasing these young men and women who we fear may be in real coffins.

Ulimwengu is now on YouTube via jeneralionline tv. E-mail: [email protected]