NAIROBI: Susan Wangari has lost count of the morgues, hospitals and police stations she has visited in search of her son, who went missing at the height of Kenya鈥檚 mass protests last June.
She last saw Emmanuel Mukuria, 24, on the morning of June 25, 2024, the day that thousands of Kenyan youths thronged the streets of Nairobi and stormed parliament in protest at planned tax rises and corruption.
鈥淚t would be better if my son were dead; at least I could visit his grave,鈥� she told AFP.
Rights groups say at least 60 people were killed during the protests in June and July, and more than 80 abducted by the security forces since then, with dozens still missing.
Mukuria鈥檚 friends say he was arrested during the protests in the city center, where he worked as a minibus tout.
鈥淲e do not have peace in this house,鈥� his mother, 50, told AFP during a visit to her single-room home in the Kasarani slum area.
鈥淚 sleep lightly at night in case he comes knocking at my window like he always did,鈥� she said.
鈥淓very time we hear that bodies have been found somewhere, we are anxious to know whose they are.鈥�
Two men told her they shared a cell with Mukuria, but they are too afraid to speak publicly about their ordeal.
One was only released in February, giving her hope that her son is still alive in captivity.
鈥淭hey told me they were beaten and questioned about the protests. They were being asked who paid them to participate,鈥� Wangari said.
Last month, President William Ruto, in a clear admission that security forces had engaged in kidnappings, said all those abducted during the protests had been 鈥渞eturned to their families.鈥�
Rights groups say dozens are still missing and police have shown little progress in investigating the disappearances despite Ruto claiming an 鈥渁ccountability mechanism鈥� was put in place.
Questioned by AFP, the president鈥檚 office said the police were 鈥渉andling the brief,鈥� while a police spokesman referred AFP back to the president鈥檚 office.
The police spokesman said they had no information on Mukuria鈥檚 case. An officer-in-charge at the station where Wangari reported him missing said the matter was still under investigation.
Many other families are still dealing with the aftermath of the violence.
Rex Masai, 29, was the first to die during the protests, shot and killed in the city center on June 20.
The inquest into his death is still dragging on.
鈥淲e are hoping for the best but we are not near the truth,鈥� Masai鈥檚 mother Gillian Munyao told AFP at her home, where a photo of her dreadlocked son hangs on the wall.
She found her son lying lifeless in a pool of blood at a clinic where he was taken that day.
The state prosecutor has said a lack of witnesses has delayed progress in the case.
One potential witness was scared off for fear he might be 鈥渇orcibly disappeared鈥� by the police, Munyao said.
Hussein Khalid, head of rights group Vocal Africa, blamed a 鈥渓ack of cooperation by the authorities.鈥�
鈥淲hen you get evidence, the unfortunate bit is you have to take it to the police themselves,鈥� he said.
He lost count of the number of funerals he attended after the protests, estimating between 20 and 30.
鈥淲as it necessary to unleash this kind of brute force against young, innocent Kenyans?鈥� he said.
Politicians have shown little interest in accountability or learning from the unrest.
鈥淧eople were killed, we sympathized, we moved on,鈥� Bashir Abdullahi, a member of the ruling coalition, told parliament during a debate on the protests last month.
But for victim鈥檚 families, the search for justice 鈥渕eans a lot,鈥� said Masai鈥檚 father, Chrispin Odawa.
鈥淭he wound will never heal,鈥� he said.