The abduction squad: Inside John Kiriamiti's return

Former bank robber-turned-writer John Kiriamiti, who became popular for his best-selling debut My Life in Crime, published in 1980, has returned with a new book.

Launched on Thursday at Sarit Centre in Nairobi, the 335-page fiction book, The Abduction Squad, is his sixth book after My Life with a Criminal (1984), The Sinister Trophy (2000), Son of Fate (1994) and My Life in Prison (2004).

The new book breaks the author’s writing silence that has existed since 2004, when he released My Life in Prison.

Asked about the long break, Kiriamiti blamed his publisher.

“You know writing is very interesting, you wait until your time comes. My book called City Carjackers’s manuscript got lost in the hands of the publisher,” said Kiriamiti, who was convicted for 28 years but served 16, during an interview with Saturday Standard on Thursday in Nairobi.

He added: “It is not possible for me to just stay without doing anything. We have laptops these days and since I went back to the village where there is good weather, that is where I work from.”

When this writer first saw the title of the book, he immediately thought it was about the recent abductions that have been happening, but that was not the case.

Abductions increased in 2024 after the Gen Z protests and have continued since then. This was despite President William Ruto saying at State House in May 2025 that all abducted youths had been returned to their families and that “and I have given clarity and firm instructions that nothing of that kind of nature will happen again.”

The new book’s front cover features a wall and two cars, one with four police officers from Magendo hidden on the side of a Peugeot police car and another private car, with members of the abduction squad shooting at each other.

Kiriamiti said the book had been in preparation for the past 15 years. It is published by East Africa Educational Publishers (EAEP), and he expects it to become another best-seller.

The book is set in Kenya during the second regime.

“The book is about a former President tasking the main character called Tom Baraza (who was one of the six Assistant Commissioners of Police) to organise an abduction in a neighbouring country fictional Republic of Magendo (referring to Uganda) to bring dissidents who were hiding there after unsuccessful attempt to overthrow his government, so that they come back to face justice,” explains Kiriamiti.

He added: “The President instructs Baraza to form a squad of police officers who will go to Magendo but Baraza advises him, saying it’s not good to recruit police officers because incase something goes wrong, it will create bad blood between the two countries.”

Instead, Baraza advises the President to use hardcore convicted criminals. He calls the Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI), who gives him files of the convicts, mostly former bank robbers.

“After perusing the file, he gets five of them and explains to them the kind of job they are going to do. He talks to the Commissioner General of Prisons and they are released under the instructions of the President. When they get to the President, he tells them what needs to be done, accept that this is something they can handle and are given the job, which is almost similar to the one they used to do,” said Kiriamiti.

He added: “They are given all kinds of necessary support, including weapons, money and identity to show that they are police officers just in case they are arrested. They go, do their job and bring back the dissidents.”

Kiriamiti, who said he plans to have another book within six months, said The Abduction Squad had received a good reception, with several copies sold by Thursday evening.

“I am even surprised; people started ordering immediately after EAEP posted the cover photo on their social media accounts,” said Kiriamiti amid smiles.

“Unlike My Life in Crime, which even became a massive cultural and literary classic in Kenya, this is for grown-up people and even Gen Zs who may have missed the first best-selling book," he said.

He had a message for young readers at a time when they are expected to play a role in the upcoming General Election in August 2027.

“They have awakened. Most of the books I wrote were during my Gen Z time and this is their time to learn and speak. The only advice I can give them is to use the rightful means, forget about violence, to unite and not to hesitate to go to the streets peacefully,” said Kiriamiti.

He added: “They should let us know that something is happening and they want it right. They are the people who can take Kenya to where it supposed to be sometimes back.”

Kiriamiti, who is now a farmer in the village, said he had no fear that the book might cause him problems.

“There is nothing for me to fear; some will love and identify with it, including police officers. Even as I was coming, my wife tried to convince me not to come for the launch but I said no, there is nothing to fear. They will take it, read it and do nothing,” he said.

The book, which explores the blurred lines between justice and criminality, also examines how trust can be misused.

This is illustrated by what happens after the abductors complete their mission. Kiriamiti said the President wanted them killed because they vanished into thin air after the mission, to the extent that even top police bosses did not know where they had gone.

The book, he said, is relevant to the entire East African Community, whose member states have faced allegations of abductions of dissidents accused of opposing existing regimes.

In mid-November 2024, Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye was abducted in Nairobi and is now jailed in a Ugandan prison facing treason charges.

According to Nathan Kamau, publicity and information officer at EAEP, which has printed all Kiriamiti’s books under the Spear Books imprint, The Abduction Squad will be available at Nuria Bookshops and all Text Book Centres, which are among the publisher’s major distributors.

“The reception has been good so far, we started with printing 1,000 copies and we have managed to sell about 700 on the launch day with several pre-orders,” said Kamau.

“The book has the potential to sell more than his past books considering it has attracted a lot of traction online. We have refined it to suit modern world and therefore it will even fit young people because the title easily grabs the attention of the reader,” said Kamau.