Revealed! How armed men trailed and abducted Standard Group Editor Alex Kiprotich

The abduction of Standard Group Associate Editor Alex Kiprotich was a carefully executed operation that began with a trail from Nairobi, escalating into an armed ambush at Gilgil and ended with the journalist being abandoned near Masinga Dam. 

Kiprotich left the Standard Group offices along Mombasa Road on Tuesday shortly after 7pm, unaware of the danger tracking his every move before his abduction at around 9pm near the Gilgil Weighbridge.

Armed men trailed Kiprotich all the way from Nairobi. They made multiple failed attempts to overtake and intercept his vehicle along the Nairobi-Nakuru highway before finally executing their ambush at the weighbridge.

It has also emerged that the abductors, who have been linked to a Cabinet Secretary’s office, were allegedly on a special operation.

Kiprotich is a man who has now survived a violent abduction attempt for the second time in just 67 days, following a previous attempt on his life in Nakuru on June 27 this year.

On Tuesday evening, the nightmare returned.

Kiprotich left the Standard Group headquarters on Mombasa Road a few minutes past 7pm.

Unknown to him, a Subaru Forester pursued him from the capital, closely tracking him for nearly 120 kilometres.

Along the highway, the abductors repeatedly tried to overtake and block Kiprotich’s vehicle, but their plans failed until they reached the Gilgil Weighbridge.

The location provided a perfect bottleneck for their mission, with the road design making it nearly impossible for a driver to find an escape route once blocked.

In a split second, the armed men in the Subaru Forester, bearing registration number KDC 125E, intercepted his vehicle.

They jumped out brandishing AK-47 rifles, unleashing terror and targeting the occupants inside.

He recalled that the men acted with the precision of tactical police officers in plain clothes, raising serious questions over whether the team was acting under instructions from a senior government official to target the journalist.

They smashed his car windows with the butts of their guns, threatening to shoot both him and his driver.

The entire highway ordeal lasted approximately five minutes before Kiprotich was taken hostage and the gunmen sped off into the night towards an unknown destination.

At around 2:30am, he was driven into a thicket near Masinga Dam while blindfolded.

Government releases full pay structure for police officers as salary increases (DETAILS)

Raila Odinga among 242 proposed for national hero recognition

FOUR Chinese nationals arrested in Nairobi over sim-swapping scheme

Ministry of Education approves ID registration for students aged 18 and above

Standard Group Editor Alex Kiprotich found dumped near Masinga Dam after abduction

There, he was harassed, assaulted and interrogated by the abductors, who aggressively questioned him about recent headlines published by the Standard newspaper.

Moments later, he was abandoned in the wilderness and warned not to move.

“At 3am. we received a call from right where we stand, a few metres from Masinga Dam, that Kiprotich had been blindfolded and dumped here,” Chacha Mwita, the Standard Group Chief Executive Officer, stated.

By this time, his abductors had left his driver stranded with the vehicle back in Gilgil. The armed men had also confiscated their mobile phones, which remain missing.

Kiprotich managed to leave the Masinga thicket at around 3am, trekking to a nearby homestead where he sought refuge and finally contacted his family and colleagues.

Meanwhile, his driver drove back to the Standard Group headquarters in Nairobi to raise the alarm.

The Standard Group CEO, alongside Kiprotich’s colleagues, reported the matter to police in Nakuru before rushing to Masinga Dam, where they successfully reunited with him.

JKUAT student and content creator dies after falling into quarry while fleeing attacker

Ethekon warns politicians and media over ‘IEBC is compromised narrative’

Court upholds TSC dismissal of teacher who missed duty to care for sick father

TSC asked to disclose teacher recruitment data from 2022 to 2026