Standard editor night abduction leaves a trail of questions
National
By
Standard Reporter
| Sep 03, 2026
Standard Group CEO Chaacha Mwita, Associate Editor Alex Kiprotich and Head of Security Tom Kipyegon at the company headquarters in Nairobi on September 2, 2026. [Stafford Ondego, Standard]
For Standard Group Associate Editor Alex Kiprotich and his driver, Geoffrey Kamau, Tuesday evening was simply a journey home.
They had left Nairobi for Nakuru, expecting nothing more than the familiar drive and the relief that comes with finally reaching home after a demanding day.
But somewhere along the Gilgil-Nakuru highway, everything changed.
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Around 9.40pm, a Subaru suddenly blocked their path. Four armed men jumped out.
The men moved towards Kiprotich and Kamau, demanding they open the vehicle.
They banged on the car as Kiprotich and Kamau pleaded with them.
Kiprotich was pulled from the vehicle and forced into the Subaru, registration number KDG 125E, which then drove off, leaving Kamau behind.
At about 6.30am, word came that Kiprotich had been found near Masinga Dam in Machakos County.
He had been reportedly dumped by his captors in the early hours of the morning and, shaken and alone, sought refuge at a nearby home.
A family had opened its doors to him and cared for him, allowing him to use their mobile phone to call friends and family.
For Kiprotich, Tuesday night's ordeal was not the first time he had found himself fearing for his life on the road.
In June, he reportedly survived an attempted abduction in Nakuru at around 7:30am along Mercy Njeri–Mastoo Road.
A Probox overtook another vehicle and blocked its path, and three armed men emerged. One walked to Kiprotich's vehicle and opened the rear passenger door, but he did not get in. Instead, he closed the door and walked around the vehicle.
That brief moment gave Kiprotich an opportunity, and he locked the doors.
The men allegedly began hitting the vehicle, trying to force him to open it.
Then he saw an opportunity and drove away.
Kiprotich swerved and sped off, escaping as the men pursued him.
He later reported the incident at Menengai Police Station. The eyewitness also recorded a statement while DCI officers visited the scene and began their investigation.
Lawyer Gordon Ogola then said the events surrounding the attempted abduction had begun even earlier.
Ogola said that before the attempted abduction, Kiprotich had noticed a Subaru, registration number KDC 146E, following him as he travelled towards Kabarak.
The vehicle allegedly followed him to a Rubis petrol station in Kiamunyi, where he stopped to refuel.
Ogola said they reported the matter to police and claimed officers at Menengai Police Station told them that the Subaru belonged to the Regional DCI office in Nakuru.
According to him, DCI officers said the vehicle had been in the area while they were pursuing robbery suspects, but questions remained.
He alleged that the men involved in the attempted abduction were not ordinary criminals but State agents, and linked the incident to The Standard's editorial stance and recent headlines.
Private investigations into the June incident raised further questions, with findings allegedly linking the attempted abduction to detectives attached to the Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau (CRIB) in Nakuru.
The investigations alleged that four armed CRIB officers were involved in the attempt and were travelling in a Toyota Probox.
Ogola later went to the CRIB offices seeking answers on the alleged involvement of the officers and the progress of the investigations.
The private investigations also identified an officer named Kemboi as one of those who allegedly trailed Kiprotich and took part in the attempted abduction.
A morning of relief, but not yet answers
By yesterday morning, Kiprotich was safe, but for his family, friends, and colleagues, the memory of those terrifying hours would not easily fade.
For the family that opened its doors to a frightened stranger near Masinga Dam, it was an act of kindness at a moment when he needed it most.
But for Kiprotich and those around him, one question remains. Why was he taken, and who was behind it?