Happening Now: DP Gachagua's impeachment motion in Parliament
KANU Digital Communications Officer Cornelius Ronoh.
When Cornelius Ronoh emerged from the gym on Monday evening, he was in high spirits, his testosterone levels hitting all-day highs.
He had been at the gym near Nyayo Gate B in Fedha, Embakasi East, for almost an hour as part of his routine and was looking forward to a relaxing evening after a long day at work. This was not to be.
On his way home, at around 5pm, Ronoh was accosted by three armed men with covered faces.
The kidnappers, who had followed him from the gym, ordered him to get into their vehicle, but he tried to resist, asking the men to introduce themselves and the reason for his arrest.
The mean-looking trio roughed him up and bundled him into the parked car, where other armed men were waiting.
"They had to use force after I refused to get into the car. When I created a commotion, people gathered around and it took them about five minutes to force me inside," Ronoh told Nation in an interview a few hours after his release on Tuesday.
Once inside the vehicle, the said men used a knife to rip off his shirt and used it to blindfold him before driving off to an unknown destination.
The Kanu party's digital communications officer recalls that after about an hour, they turned onto a bumpy road that led into a forest where there was a house that became his temporary home for the night.
By this time, his two phones had been confiscated and he was forced to give them his password.
"They told me I had two options: Give them the password or they finish me. I told them I couldn't resist. They relaxed after I gave them the passwords, I think because they were busy checking my phone".
Poor ventilation
When the vehicle stopped, the armed men got out and, after a few minutes, picked him up and took him to a room with poor ventilation.
"I was taken into a room and I could tell from the water I stepped on that it was a house in the forest. The room was small, with a dim light bulb in the far corner, but you could not see everything in there.
He was ushered into the room with a slap on the cheek and told to undress, although he was handcuffed.
"I took off all my clothes, including my shoes. Once I was naked, they handcuffed me again and pushed me into one of the corners. And that is how I slept.
After spending about five minutes in a cold room with no clothes on, someone he describes as a senior member of his captors arrived and began interrogating him.
"The interrogator identified me as CR, for Cornelius Ronoh. He told me that I had three options: to cooperate, and if I did not cooperate they would use force to get information or to tell them where I wanted them to dump my body.
When he realised that the kidnappers were being cruel with their options, he begged them to drop the other options as he was ready to comply.
"I could hear the man sitting in front of me opening a book and I told him that I was ready to cooperate. He asked me about my job, how much I was paid and who my boss was.
Shivering after being forced to undress in a cold environment, he was asked if he was being paid by anyone to post certain messages on his social media accounts.
After the introductory part, they began to dig deeper into his recent posts, where he had written something in Swahili, kufa dereva kufa makanga, which loosely translates as the death of the driver and the tout.
"Why did you say kufa dereva kufa makanga?" they asked him.
"I told them that it was purely political and that I was just taking advantage of the situation as a member of the opposition party," Ronoh said.
They also asked him about Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and how well he knew him, and if he was being paid by Gachagua's team to post on social media.
"I told them that I was not being paid by anyone and that I had never met Gachagua. They went through my phone to see if I had received any money. Fortunately, I did not have enough money in my last transactions and I had to borrow from Fuliza.
After an intense interrogation, Ronoh was allowed to sleep, fearing for his fate in the hands of his captors.
At around 4am the next day, Ronoh says his captors were a little kind to him, serving him tea in a large cup and a whole loaf of bread.
Criticise the government
This was after he had assured them that he would no longer criticise the government and that he was ready to work with them in any way, which he said was a lie, since he only had to lie to be safe.
"I was given my clothes and served breakfast, and after some time they blindfolded me again and took me out of the room."
At around 9am, Ronoh was dropped near Ridgeways on Kiambu Road and the abductors gave him Sh2,000 to facilitate his movement.
"I was given Sh2,000 and they told me to go but added that they would come back for me anytime."
After his first experience with kidnappers, Ronoh said he was still traumatised.
His family was also worried, but were later informed of his whereabouts.
Kanu Director of Communications Manasse Nyainda, who works with Ronoh, condemned the abduction and said the Ruto government was targeting people who criticise President Ruto.
"We cannot condone a country that is being run like a gangster country. It is very wrong," Manasse said.
