Lawyers say anti-tax protesters kidnapped in Kenya last week as part of a crackdown have been left traumatized.
An estimated 35 people have been arrested in an operation allegedly orchestrated by an intelligence service, suspected of leading the protests against the finance bill, which has since been withdrawn.
Most of the abductees have now been released, but the Law Society of Kenya told the BBC that ten activists are still missing.
Government spokesman Isaac Mwaura defended the police actions, saying “criminal elements intent on carrying out a coup” were trying to take advantage of the peaceful protests.
Some reported having their phones and laptops confiscated and having horrific experiences in dark rooms.
“Most of them are visibly shocked and do not want to talk,” Faith Odhiambo, president of the Kenya Law Society (LSK), told the BBC.
The youth-led protests began last week, with thousands of demonstrators marching largely peacefully in the capital Nairobi and across the country against a controversial financial bill that would raise taxes.
However, tensions rose on Tuesday afternoon after police officers opened fire on protesters outside the parliament building, which was being stormed by the crowd.
At least 23 protesters were killed in the violence on Tuesday, according to a medical association.
The next day, Chairman Willem Ruto bowed to pressure and said he would withdraw the bill, which was passed by MPs on Tuesday.
He also reaffirmed his campaign promise to end state-sponsored kidnappings as a political tool amid the wave of disappearances.
His deputy, Rigathi Gachagua, blamed the police’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) for the kidnappings.
On Wednesday, Mr Ruto said all kidnapped people had been released, but rights groups dispute this – and Ms Odhiambo said as the president spoke that 12 people were still missing.
“But two have [since] found. One of them was found yesterday, dumped on a tea plantation, completely naked,” she said.
According to the chairman of LSK, many of those released had no physical injuries, but were so traumatized that they did not want to talk about their experiences.
“Some were abandoned on plantations outside Nairobi, while others were thrown by the side of the road and left there in great shock.”
Some said they now only wanted to go to their village homes because they did not feel safe in the city. Others were even considering leaving the country altogether, she added.
Most of them are under 30 years old and were taken from the streets or their homes by armed men in plain clothes, presumably police officers.
Most were vocal about the anti-tax protests on X Spaces, a feature that allows users to have live audio conversations with others on the platform formerly known as Twitter.
They said their captors asked them about their contribution to the protests and who was funding them.
“Some of them were asked who gave them the protest ideas,” Ms Odhiambo said.
George Diano, one of the first abductees, described in a post on X some of the traumas he had endured and asked people to pray for those still missing.
“It’s never easy in the hands of those bloody beasts. Many won’t talk, but they really do you dirty,” Mr. Diano said.
Austin Omondi, a doctor better known on social media as Ja Prado, who organised blood donations for those injured during the protests, was also kidnapped.
He was held for six hours and later released after doctors threatened to strike, Davji Atellah, the secretary general of the Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists Dentists Union, told the BBC’s Newsday programme.
“He has not spoken since he came out of prison because he was threatened with death if he revealed what happened during his kidnapping,” Atellah said.
Kenya’s state-funded National Human Rights Commission said it had helped secure the release of more than 300 people who had been “illegally detained”, believed to include people arrested during protests.
Chief Justice Martha Koome condemned the kidnappings, saying they constituted an outright attack on the rule of law.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had approved the use of military force to restore order as police were overwhelmed during the protests.
A judge said the military deployment was vital to protect government installations, but gave authorities two days to clarify how long the deployment would last, along with the rules for engagement.
Mwaura told the BBC the withdrawal of the finance bill was a “huge blow” to the government as it left a “big hole” in the budget.
“It is really a big setback,” Mwaura said, blaming “misinformed” Kenyans for their resistance.
“There was a very well-choreographed campaign, both locally and internationally, to misinform and disinform people so that they could create an uprising.”
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