Standard Group Associate Editor Alex Kiprotich has been found alive after being abducted by armed men on Tuesday night and dumped near Masinga Dam in Machakos County.
Kiprotich was intercepted shortly before 9:20 PM along the Gilgil–Nakuru Road by four masked assailants armed with AK-47 rifles. The abductors, traveling in a government-plated Subaru Forester fitted with a siren, forcibly dragged the editor into their vehicle before driving off. During the nine-hour ordeal, Kiprotich was repeatedly interrogated regarding the media house’s editorial operations, sources, and headline decisions.
He was abandoned around 2:00 AM on Wednesday roughly 10 meters from Masinga Dam. Kiprotich sought refuge at a local household before being located by a Standard Group rescue team at approximately 6:30 AM. While physically safe, colleagues report he remains visibly shaken.
This incident comes just two months after Kiprotich survived a June 27 abduction attempt in Nakuru, which internal investigations linked to the National Police Service’s Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau. Standard Group CEO Chaacha Mwita condemned the attack as a deliberate attempt by state elements to silence critical press coverage and demanded a full independent investigation.
