Vocal social media and political activist Gabriel Oguda was among 9 people who were rounded up at dawn on Tuesday, June 25, hours to Finance Bill demonstrations. 

Osama Otero who has been holding popular X Spaces opposing the Finance Bill 2024, was also reportedly abducted by unknown people. 

Other X users who are suspected to have been abducted include; Drey Mwangi, TemperCR7, Harriet, Shad, Franje, Worldsmith and Hilla254. 

In his last message before going offline, Gabriel Oguda remarked that cops were at his gate. 

Despite him going offline, Oguda’s X user account continued posting rallying calls for Kenyans to turn up for demonstrations on Tuesday. 

Speaking of the tweets, his brother Zachary Oguda told the nation, “Any tweets coming from Gabriel Oguda were already scheduled. He is not safe.”

In what appeared to have been a coordinated roundup, Osama Otero, tweeted about strangers at his home almost the same time as Oguda. 

“Guys are outside where I am,” his last post which has since gone viral read. 

#FreeOguda and #FreeOsama quickly became the second and third most trending topics in Kenya shortly after their abduction. 

#RejectFinanceBill2024 hashtag which has since gone global had already hit 3.59 million posts on Tuesday morning making it the most trending topic in East Africa. 

Law Society of Kenya (LSK) led by President Faith Odhiambo had earlier accused the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and National Police Service (NPS) of being behind a series of abductions of Kenyans opposing the Finance Bill. 

“We call on all members of the public to be extra vigilant at this time. Let us continue to share and communicate any information you may have to establish the whereabouts of our comrades,” she stated.