‘Where is our son? Kenyan Family still seeks son abducted four years ago

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Monday March 17, 2025

A distressed family holds up photos of their missing relative, Shaffi Noor, who was allegedly abducted outside a courthouse four years ago. /BRIAN OTIENO/ The Star

NAIROBI, Kenya (HOL) — More than four years have passed, yet the family of Shaffi Noor is still searching for answers. The 21-year-old was last seen outside a Garissa courtroom on December 29, 2021—just moments after being acquitted of terror-related charges. Witnesses say masked officers, suspected to be from Kenya's Anti-Terror Police Unit (ATPU), seized him and disappeared without a trace.

Noor's case has long haunted his family, but it now fits into a disturbing pattern of enforced disappearances in Kenya. Since June 2024, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) has documented 82 cases of abductions, with 29 individuals still missing. Many victims, like Noor, were targeted after being critical of the government or entangled in state security operations.

"We just want to know where he is," said Ahmed Noor, his uncle. "His mother has been in a terrible state since the day he was taken. She barely eats or sleeps." The family's search has taken them to sites of mass graves, including River Yala and Shakahola, where bodies of missing persons have been found in the past.

The silence from authorities has been deafening. Kenya's Inspector General of Police has denied any state involvement in the abductions despite multiple eyewitness reports implicating security forces. Activists argue that these disappearances mirror past state crackdowns under Daniel Arap Moi's regime when opponents were silenced through extrajudicial means.

Noor had just finished high school and worked as a taxi driver in Wajir, a business his parents helped him establish. His troubles began when he met a Somali woman who later asked him to buy her a phone and a Safaricom SIM card. Unaware of the consequences, Noor registered the SIM card in his name. Shortly after, the woman left for her home near the Somali border, and Noor lost contact—until one day, a man answered her phone, claiming to be her husband and warning him to stay away.

Unbeknownst to Noor, the woman had alleged ties to al-Shabaab. Security agencies later used the phone records as justification to arrest him. Though a Garissa court acquitted him, he was abducted just minutes later.

Noor's case is one of many that have sparked nationwide protests. Since June 2024, Kenyans have taken to the streets, demanding the release of missing persons. Demonstrations have been held across Nairobi, Mombasa, Eldoret, Embu, and Kajiado, with activists decrying the resurgence of politically motivated abductions.

While President William Ruto initially dismissed these disappearances as 'fake news,' mounting pressure led him to acknowledge that security forces had engaged in excessive force. He vowed to end the abductions, but human rights groups remain skeptical. Many fear that recent abductions, including those of social media activists, are part of a broader effort to suppress dissent.

While some abductees have reappeared, many refuse to speak about their ordeals, raising concerns that they have been intimidated into silence. Activists like Gideon Kibet, who was abducted after posting critical political cartoons of Ruto, have since ceased all online activity. Others, like Billy Mwangi, who was kidnapped after sharing an AI-generated image of Ruto in a coffin, have been too traumatized to speak.

"People are being warned to keep quiet," said activist Hussein Khalid. "These disappearances are well-organized, systematic, and carried out with impunity."

His family refuses to give up hope. "As long as we have not found his body, we believe he is alive," said Mama Jamila, a relative. They point to recent cases of missing persons being released, including a Wajir MCA who resurfaced after four months in captivity.

But the clock is ticking. Kenya's security chiefs are under growing pressure to account for the disappearances, with a judge warning that top officials could face contempt of court charges if they fail to appear in upcoming hearings.

With the United Nations set to hold the World Congress on Enforced Disappearances on January 15, 2025, Kenya faces global scrutiny. Activists are calling on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to intervene if the government fails to act.

For Noor's family, however, this is not just about politics—it is about bringing their son home. "We ask President Ruto to intervene," said Jamila. "We just want our boy back."

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