Kenya: Kidnapping of Booker Ngesa Omole Met with Widespread Condemnation
Featured image: Poster of the campaign for the freedom of Booker Ngesa Omole. Source: X account of the Communist Party Marxist of Kenya.
The General Secretary of the Communist Party Marxist – Kenya (CPM-K) was kidnapped by the State on 24th of February, by plain clothed men who never identified themselves, with no badges nor warrants.
The Central Committee of the CPM-K denounced that he was “beaten severely. Tortured. Brutalized to near death. His tooth was broken. His finger was cut with a pen knife.” The Party demanded immediate and unconditional release and immediate medical care and legal access.
After some hours, Booker Ngesa was transferred to the Kitengela Remand Prison, and it was known that he had a broken arm and he was denied medical care and bail. Contact with his lawyers has also been denied. The torture and humiliations against him have continued, as the CPM-K denounces through its social media accounts.
The CPM-K listed the charges against Booker Ngesa, describing them as trumped up and as fabricated cases:
– Threatening to kill a police officer.
– 2 charges of assaulting a police officer.
– Possession of a firearm.
– Possession of ammunition.
– Possession of narcotics.
– Use of narcotics.
On the first two cases, Booker Ngesa resisted the agents because they never identified themselves, so he was resisting a kidnapping by unknown people. On the question of weapons, the CPM-K explains that Booker Ngesa owns a gun license and moreover, during the arrest he was unarmed. Regarding his alleged ties with narcotics, the CPM-K explains that “The Charges on Narcotics are not new and the CIA has perfected on this by using the pretext of drugs on Colombia and Venezuela to silence leftist voices.” And they add: “Linking Booker to a “drug cartel” is pure political theater. His only link to Venezuela is solidarity with Nicolás Maduro.”
The organizations in Kenya called for support for Booker Ngesa. The International League of People’s Struggle (ILPS) issued a statement in solidarity with him and demanding his immediate freedom:
Also the ILPS Africa and West Asia Regional Committee issued a statement demanding his freedom:
In France, National Bureau of the Ligue de la Jeunesse Révolutionnaire and Jeunes Révolutionnaires also expressed solidarity:
