"I was sandwiched between two men in civilian clothes, I was handcuffed and I was assaulted," he narrated.

The strange abductors, Gaitho continued, were demanding to know why he was resisting arrest but he defended himself saying "I don't know who you are, you have not identified yourselves".

"They drove me down Lang'ata road up to around the turning of Lang'ata south road where they stopped, made a few calls I don't know to who but I gathered they were talking to their superior," he said.

After prolonged conversations on the said call, Gaitho said that his abductors turned back towards Karen and stopped at a Shell petrol station located at the Karen shopping centre.

"That is the time they asked for my ID and I gave it to them. They looked at it and asked you're the same Francis Macharia Gaitho I said 'yes'," Gaitho noted.

One abductor hopped out of the car and made a number of phone calls and minutes later asked for Gaitho's number to which he refused to give out.

"After another long call they came back and the guy sitting behind was asked to remove my handcuffs then they told me it was a case of mistaken identity and that I am free to go," he added saying that they took him to the police station.

Gaitho, now defiant and more inquisitive, opted to report the matter at the same police station as an attempted abduction.

"They did not explain how it could be mistaken identity, they did not explain how they could have trailed me right from near my home. So as far as I was concerned those were still criminals," he said.

He, however, noted that he was directed to escalate the matter to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) headquarters, which he has denied.

"I got a call from the OCPD Lang'ata, she was telling me to go talk to her there I said no if she wants to talk to me she can come here. Now she has told me they are sending somebody to come and take my statement. That is what I am waiting for," he said.

The veteran journalist further believes that his mysterious abduction is tied to his professional work as a columnist, noting that unlawful practices from the state should be met with firm objection and hold those responsible culpable.

"I am not the first person to be abducted or to be arrested. It is clear that all these things are connected that police are operating outside the law and on this we must lay blame where it squarely lies. That is on the government of Kenya, director of DCI, National Police Service," he protested.

"We cannot sit back and watch Kenya descend into a lawless state."

On her part, Kenya Editors Guild (KEG) president Zubeida Kananu lamented the now-prevalent and evident attacks on journalists which she says is a blatant attempt to censure the Kenyan media from informing citizens.

"We are not criminals, our work is to inform Kenyans on what is happening. When you handcuff a journalist without telling them the reason why, what really is your intention?" Kananu posed.

This lies on the backdrop of incessant abductions by Kenya police in the past month in the wake of the anti-government protests.

Widespread videos shared online have shown officers bundling Kenyans and persons of interest being savagely bundled into cars by unidentifiable persons believed to be attached to national security branches.

In its recent update, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) has placed the number of those who have reportedly been abducted by the police and reported missing since the protests began at 59, with those killed by police at 50.

"The number of those arbitrarily arrested is at 682. We condemn the abductions and arrests and demand an immediate and unconditional release of all the illegally detained persons in relation to the protests," KNCHR chairperson Roseline Odede told a press conference.