Gideon Kibet, popularly known as Kibet Bull, and his brother Ronny Kiplangat were joyfully reunited with their family on Tuesday, January 7, after being allegedly abducted for two weeks. The reunion took place in Sangawet village, Kuresoi South, Nakuru County, where the joy of their mother was evident as she embraced her sons, whom she had been desperately searching for since their abduction.
Kibet Bull, a digital cartoonist renowned for his viral caricatures of President William Ruto, and Kiplangat were released on Monday, January 6, after being missing for two weeks. Kibet was allegedly abducted on December 25, 2024, and later abandoned in Luanda, Vihiga County, while Ronny was found in Machakos.
In an interview, Bull recounted that he was kidnapped by unknown individuals in a white double-cabin vehicle shortly after visiting the office of Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah in Nairobi. Ronny Kiplangat, on the other hand, was abducted on December 21, after attending a church service at the Kikuyu Seventh Day Adventist Church, where he serves as a youth leader. Kiplangat believes his abduction may have been a case of mistaken identity, as he suspects the abductors were actually after his brother Kibet.
Bull explained that his captors blindfolded him, drove for hours, and then confined him in a locked container room. Throughout the ordeal, the men did not reveal their motives but instead questioned him if he knew why he was in their custody. He was eventually released in the early hours of the morning in Luanda, where he decided to attend a nearby disco matanga (night vigil) to pass the time until daybreak.
Kibet later shared his thoughts on the vigil, revealing that government bloggers were attempting to use the event to promote a narrative. He also knocked on three houses for help but was met with no response, one of which had aggressive dogs.
Kibet strongly denied accusations that he had staged his abduction, as some Kenyans and politicians had claimed. He emphasized that causing such distress to his family was unimaginable: “We cannot abduct ourselves and then return home, leaving our parent to suffer unnecessarily.”
Both brothers have since called on the government to employ legal methods to address the actions of critics and activists, urging that arrests should be carried out within the bounds of the law rather than through abduction tactics.
