The High Court Thursday dismissed Inspector General of police Douglas Kanja and DCI boss Mohamed Amin’s application seeking to set aside orders requiring their personal attendance in court over the alleged abduction and disappearance of three men in Mlolongo last year.
High Court judge Justice Chacha Mwita consequently ordered the two police bosses to appear in court on January 30.
While dismissing the application , Justice Mwita said that the order he issued in January this year was intended to uphold the constitution and enforce the Bill of Rights.
“Securing the lives of the three missing men remains a priority for this court. It will not be in the public interest to allow the application by the IG and DCI,” said Mwita.
Kanja and Amin sought to have orders issued on January 8 and January 13 set aside.
The orders required them to produce in court the three missing men and also personally appear in court over the same.
They later filed an application claiming they were not served with the orders and that the court had condemned them without giving them a chance to be heard.
However, in his ruling, Justice Mwita stated that he was not convinced the email address used to serve the IG and DCI was not their official email address.
“I am therefore satisfied that they were served with the application and the orders issued,” he concluded.
The victims have been missing since December 16, 2024, when they were allegedly picked up by unknown people from their Mlolongo residence, Machakos County.
This is the latest case of alleged abduction to face the police leadership amid uproar over the trend.
The police however claim they have no information on their whereabouts and are investigating the incidents.
Over the past six months, cases of abductions and enforced disappearances have become common as parents living in fear of their youth disappearing without a trace.
According to the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, there have been at least 82 cases of abductions since June last year, the period when youths took to the streets to protest against the Finance Bill.
The people behind the trend however remain a mystery.
