Isiolo Ex-Health Official Narrates How Governor Guyo’s Goons Abducted, Tortured and Left Him for Dead

Nairobi, Kenya – September 9, 2025

Former Isiolo County Chief Officer for Health, Mohamed Abdirahman, has recounted a harrowing ordeal in which he was abducted, tortured and left for dead an attack he claims was carried out by men linked to Governor Ibrahim Abdi Guyo.

Speaking in Nairobi, Abdirahman said his troubles began after he declined to renew his contract as health chief, citing a toxic work environment and what he described as constant sabotage by the governor.

On June 13, while in Maanzoni, Machakos County, he was confronted by armed men who disarmed him and forced him into a vehicle.

He was later taken to Ruaka, blindfolded, beaten and interrogated about his role in efforts to impeach the governor.

“They thought I was dead. The governor asked why I wanted to impeach him. The people in the vehicle questioned me about who was financing the impeachment and warned me it would not succeed because they intended to kill me,” he recalled, describing a night that has left him traumatized.

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations took up the matter, and last week the Director of Public Prosecutions ordered the arrest of Governor Guyo and seven others on charges of robbery with violence and kidnapping with intent to cause grievous harm.

The governor, however, has dismissed the allegations as a political witch-hunt.

Isiolo Governor Abdi Guyo appearing before the parliamentary committee.

Addressing worshippers at a church fundraiser in Nairobi, Guyo denied any involvement in the incident and insisted that those seeking his removal from office should do so through democratic means.

The case is the latest in a string of controversies that have put the governor’s leadership under scrutiny.

Earlier this year, he was caught on video storming a police station in Isiolo, threatening an officer during a heated dispute over land evictions.

In March, Burat Ward MCA Nicholas Lorot, a vocal critic of the governor, was shot by unknown gunmen outside a hotel, an attack that heightened fears of political violence in the county.

Around the same time, the County Assembly accused Guyo of making sexist remarks against Senator Fatuma Dullo and issuing divisive clan-based insults—allegations that fed into an impeachment motion that was later dismissed by the Senate on technical grounds.

To his supporters, the accusations represent a relentless campaign by political rivals determined to destabilize his administration.

But to his critics, the pattern is clear: violence, intimidation and abuse of office have become defining features of his rule.

For Abdirahman, the fight is now about justice and survival. “As a victim of crime, what matters is where I am today. We have given the police all the materials needed. The DCI did a good job, and the DPP acted. I expect nothing less,” he said.

Governor Guyo is expected back in court on September 23, where his political future and the credibility of Isiolo’s leadership will face a critical test.