High, Steep Road Shoulders Trapped Their Vehicle, Cutting Off Any Escape Route.

Standard Group Associate Editor Alex Kiprotich was abducted by armed men along the Gilgil–Nakuru Road in Kenya on August 1, 2026, in what his employer describes as a well-coordinated operation. Kiprotich and his driver, Geoffrey Kamau, were ambushed at a strategic choke point barely 100 meters from the Gilgil weighbridge station in Nakuru, where police stand guard in the full glare of six CCTV cameras. High, steep road shoulders trapped their vehicle, cutting off any escape route.

The assailants forced the car to stop, harassed the duo, bundled Kiprotich away, and executed a swift U-turn toward Nairobi. It was not until Saturday, four days after the Tuesday night abduction, that officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) finally visited the scene. Lawyer Gordon Ogolla said the regional DCI requested a reconstruction of events.

"We have just noted that there were six CCTV cameras just in front of where this took place." We have been able to talk to the ICT manager at KeNHA, and they promised they will be able to give us the footage when we formally request it, Ogolla said. Standard Group's Head of Security Tom Kipyegon raised concerns that the incident seemed to be a well-executed plan. "The scene reveals how everything seemed to have been planned." This incident seemed to have been planned far in advance, Kipyegon explained.

"They made sure to stop them at a choking point where the driver could not escape because of the high shoulders of the road. It was also very strategic for them to quickly turn around and head back toward the Nairobi direction. Over the past few days, the DCI has come under sharp criticism over delays in investigations.

Despite the incident being reported on Tuesday night and the subsequent recovery of the victims and their vehicle, the DCI had yet to dust the vehicle for fingerprints or record statements from the victims until Friday." Kipyegon noted that, although marred by delays, the investigations are slowly gaining momentum. "This incident took place on Tuesday, and today is Saturday, Kipyegon said. "Now the police are starting to build up efforts toward looking into this matter.

We are here to let them reconstruct the scene, but one very critical element we retained as part of our management and protection of our people is that we provided the exact coordinates. On Saturday, the Standard Group team visited the Gilgil Weighbridge station offices to understand the reliability of the cameras mounted on the highway. They discovered that the cameras belong to KeNHA, and that a private contractor is responsible for managing and servicing them.

However, they discovered that while the control room is in place, no one is manning it. "So, these cameras, though they are there, may not help in a real-time situation to protect life and secure Kenyans, Kipyegon noted." He said that the company is making requests to KeNHA to provide access to full footage that can be corroborated with the evidence to demonstrate that Kiprotich was abducted. "This is opposed to what machinery related to the government is pushing, that Alex staged his own abduction." That is now very clear, and we wait to see the stakeholders step up and unmask the perpetrators behind what could be a much larger syndicate, Kipyegon said.

"The ball is now in their court, and time is ticking," he added. Doing a reconstruction so many days after the incident is a disservice to the citizens of this country in terms of national security. Meanwhile, five days after the abduction, pressure is mounting on the National Police Service (NPS) to apprehend the culprits.

On Friday, September 4, two days after the incident, the forensic department of the DCI lifted fingerprints from the vehicle Kiprotich and Kamau were driving at the time. The two recorded statements at the Rift Valley Regional Directorate of Criminal Investigation offices in Nakuru, following pressure from the Standard Group, the media, and human rights organisations. Julius Chepkwony, a Standard who reported the incident at Gilgil Police Station on the night of the abduction, also recorded his statement. Kiprotich was pictured at the Standard Group Center on September 2, 2026, after his release.