The Inspector General of Police (IG) Douglas Kanja and the Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Mohamed Amin have received a reprieve after the High Court temporarily lifted its earlier order requiring them to appear in court on Monday, January 27, 2025.
The court had previously ordered Kanja and Amin to explain their involvement in the controversial abduction cases of several young men or face imprisonment.
Along with the Director-General of the National Transport and Safety Authority Service (NTSA) George Njao, the two were ordered to attend court proceedings over the disappearances of college student Billy Munyiri Mwangi, Ronny Kiplangat (the brother of cartoonist Kibet Bull), content creator Bernard Kavuli, and Peter Muteti, as well as the still-missing Bernard Kavingo.
However, Justice Bahati Mwamuye in a ruling on January 22, 2025, granted the three senior government officials a brief reprieve after issuing a temporary suspension of the court orders made on December 31, 2024, and January 8, 2025, which had compelled them to explain the circumstances surrounding the disappearances personally.
Justice Mwamuye ordered that the Police Chiefs serve their application to quash the court orders on Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah and the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) by Wednesday, January 22, 2025.
Court delivers ruling on abductions case involving IG Kanja
Additionally, they must file their affidavits challenging the court orders by Thursday, January 23.
The matter will be revisited on January 27, 2025, when the court will review further directions regarding the application.
The police chiefs now face an intense final opportunity to appear in court on that date, or they risk being held in contempt of court and potentially jailed.
Also Read: Murkomen, IG Kanja Fail to Appear in Court Over Abductions
The temporary suspension of the appearance orders comes as the country continues to await answers to the troubling abduction cases that have rattled public confidence in security agencies.
These cases have sparked widespread outrage and calls for accountability.
Meanwhile, High Court Judge Chacha Mwita has issued orders directing IG Kanja to disclose the whereabouts of missing Wajir Member of County Assembly (MCA) Yussuf Hussein Ahmed within 14 days.
Missing Wajir MCA Case
The judge on Wednesday also directed the petitioners to serve the respondents within seven days.
“An order is hereby issued directing the Inspector General of Police to within 14 days disclose the whereabouts of the 3rd Respondent, Yussuf Hussein Ahmed,” read the documents.
“Respondents and Interested Parties will have 7 days after service to file their written submissions also not exceeding 10 pages each.”
Also Read: New Twist in Wajir MCA’s Death as DNA Test Turns Negative
Wajir Governor Ahmed Abdullahi, the LSK, and MCA Hussein are listed as second, first and third petitioners respectively in the case.
On the other hand, IG Kanja, the DCI, the DPP and the Attorney General are the respondents in the case while the Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA) is an interested party.
The case seeks to unravel the mystery behind the disappearance of the Dela Ward MCA who went missing more than five months ago. Hussein is said to have been abducted on September 13, 2024, along Enterprise Road in Nairobi’s Industrial Area.
A month after his disappearance, a body was retrieved in Lake Yahud which was believed to be the missing MCA.
Family members and locals thronged the morgue to identify the body that was badly tortured and decomposed.
However, two independent DNA tests later determined that the body was not that of the MCA.
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