The resurgence of abductions targeting government critics has reignited memories of the terror experienced by those taken during the peak of anti-government protests earlier this year.
Among the victims are two brothers from Kitengela, Jamil and Aslam Longton, who endured what they can only describe as months spent in torture chambers.
The brothers share their harrowing experience of thirty-two days filled with horrific treatment, drawing parallels with the accounts of prisoners liberated from the notorious Sednaya Prison in Syria, known for its brutal conditions under Bashar al-Assad.
“The rooms were constructed with thick cardboard,” Aslam recalls, emphasizing the makeshift and chilling nature of their confinement.
Jamil and Aslam were abducted right outside their home in Kitengela soon after intense demonstrations erupted on August 8, 2024.
What followed was a month of relentless torture and terror.
Now, three months post-release, they yearn for a peaceful night’s sleep, yet the psychological and physical scars remain painfully evident.
As soon as they were taken to the torture chambers, the abuse began.
Both brothers were stripped of their clothing, handcuffed to the ground, and subjected to severe beatings.
“A short and muscular man would come in with a fiber cable and a curtain rod to beat me,” Jamil remembers vividly.
When they were finally released, the brothers emerged visibly weakened, having endured starvation with minimal food rations.
“We were given ugali, cabbage, and only 300ml of water for both washing hands and drinking,” they noted, describing their makeshift toilet fashioned from a cut five-litre bottle.
In the oppressive silence of isolation, they lost track of time, able only to hear the hum of a television set in another room.
Though they have been free for several months, the trauma from their abduction continues to haunt them, complicating their efforts to re-establish their lives and reputations.
Despite these challenges, Aslam expresses unwavering determination to speak out against the injustices that propelled them into activism in the first place.
“We refuse to be silenced.
They threatened to kill us if we spoke to the media, but only God knows how long we have left,” he states boldly.
Their story sheds light on a contemporary system reminiscent of the infamous Nyayo House torture chambers during former President Daniel arap Moi’s regime, highlighting the ongoing climate of fear in present-day Kenya.
As Aslam reflects, “Every person who opened that door was instructed to beat me and would ask me the same questions.”
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