In the early 1980s and 1990s, Nyayo House—a government building—became infamously known for the torture of individuals who opposed the dictatorial regime of President Daniel Arap Moi. One notable figure who is frequently mentioned by the torture victims of Nyayo House is James Opiyo, referenced in the book The Nyayo House Story We Lived to Tell.
The torture chambers at Nyayo House were part of Moi’s broader strategy to consolidate power following the 1982 coup attempt and to suppress groups critical of his government.
The establishment of these torture chambers was influenced by tactics used by Romania’s President Nicolae Ceaușescu, who had similar facilities in every province within Romania.
According to the victim’s narration, James Opiyo was a key player involved in the interrogation and torture of political prisoners at Nyayo House during the Moi regime.
He was identified as a policeman, belonging to the Specialist Branch now called the National Intelligence Service (NIS), notably in charge of the Mwakenya interrogations. Opiyo had reportedly received training in torture methods from the CIA in the USA.
Victims Identify James Opiyo as the Man Who Supervised Torture at Nyayo House
Numerous detainees have shared their painful experiences with Opiyo and other officers. Kamau Munene, a journalist with the Kenya News Agency in Kirinyaga District, was arrested in October 1987 on suspicion of being part of the underground Kenya Patriotic Front.
He describes his ordeal at Nyayo House and identifies Opiyo and Machiri as some of his torturers.
“Whenever they wanted to torture me, I would be blindfolded, taken to a VIP lift, and whisked up to the 25th floor, then walked to the 26th, where the torture occurred. My torturers would remove the blindfold, strip me naked, and handcuff me before starting. ‘You dog, who are you compared to 23 million Kenyans? Even if you die, you are just a bitch!’ Machiri and Opiyo, whom I later recognised, shouted at me while whipping me repeatedly,” Munene said.
How Detainees Were Tortured
Another victim, Professor Edward Oyugi, recalled an encounter with Opiyo during his time in a waterlogged cell. Opiyo visited Oyugi at night. Even though Oyugi was wearing pyjamas, his reaction was defiant, which made Opiyo angry.
“I was later taken to the Nyayo House basement cells, where I suffered inhuman and degrading torture for about two and a half weeks. During that time, I was kept in a waterlogged cell. One morning, Opiyo visited to see if I was still in the water.
He was still in his pyjamas and slippers. I was annoyed and asked him, ‘Have you come all the way from Langata to enjoy my suffering instead of being in bed with your wife?’ Opiyo was evidently infuriated by my insolence and threw a slipper at me,” Oyugi narrated.
Former Member of Parliament for Runyenjes Constituency, Njeru Kathangu, recounted how Opiyo was present during his interrogation at Nyayo House. During this time, Opiyo asked questions about Kathangu’s potential role as chief of general staff in forming an alternative government and his associations with former detainees.
He also inflicted physical violence, pretending to slap Kathangu before beating him with a wooden chair leg and a rubber whip until he could no longer stand. Opiyo even suggested he could help Kathangu if he confessed to being misled into attempting to overthrow the government.
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James Opiyo reportedly retired from the Special Branch in April 1999 and later went into exile after the end of President Moi’s KANU regime. He eventually returned to Kenya and is believed to be residing in his rural home in Ranen, Rongo Constituency.
Despite James Opiyo’s name being mentioned in survivor accounts and in recommendations by the Truth, Justice, and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) to prosecute those responsible for the deaths and the pain inflicted on survivors at Nyayo House, Opiyo and others in charge of torture at Nyayo House during the 1980s and early 1990s have never been convicted.
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