The High Court on Friday ordered the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to give protection to the key witness in the Wajir Member of County Assembly (MCA) Yussuf Hussein Ahmed abduction case pending a formal application for witness protection.
Justice Alexander Muteti also directed the agencies to provide an updated report of the status of the investigations on October 7.
When the matter came for mention, the court was told by senior superintendent of police Justus Imaana that they are yet to obtain CCTV footage from the lawmaker’s pickup point to the point he was abducted on September 13.
Imaana however told Muteti that he had only managed to obtain two CCTV footage and made requests to other sources along the suspects route of the abduction to assist with their CCTV footage.
He said that his request to the Internet Crime Complaint Centre (IC3) had been denied.
“After abduction I cannot be able to speculate which roads the two Prados took,” he said.
“I have sought assistance from entities like interface pharmacy and IC3 gave us negative feedback,” Imaana who is the Industrial Area DCIO told the court
The officer told the court that he could not speculate the investigations timelines as the investigations are complex.
“I cannot speculate investigations timelines reason being that investigations is a continuous process and being continuous they must have a beginning and along the way it reaches a point where you are able to unravel the perpetrators. I haven’t reached that level to unravel,” Imaana said.
The court heard that Imaana was yet to receive call data from the mobile communication network for purposes of establishing who the lawmaker talked to before being abducted.
Yussuf’s lawyers led by Danstan Omari and Law Society of Kenya (LSK) lawyer Hosea Manwa on their part disputed the officer’s claims, calling for urgent action.
They accused the police of dragging their feet despite having access to key evidence.
Omari told the court that the investigating officers admitted to possessing CCTV footage but claimed it was unclear.
The court was told that further footage from neighboring areas had not been sought.
“This inquiry file has been gathering dust at their offices,” Omari told the court. “Had it not been for the intervention of this court, the family of the missing MCA would continue living in anxiety and uncertainty.”
Omari wants the court to compel investigators to obtain CCTV footage from government installations along Lusaka Road, Muhoho Road, Enterprise Road, and Nyayo Stadium, where the abduction allegedly took place.
The court was also asked to set strict timelines for the investigation, with Omari arguing that uncovering the registration of the vehicles would lead to a breakthrough in the case.
“The police have the capacity to investigate, but there seems to be no deliberate intention to expedite this matter,” Omari stated, urging the court to take action.
The legal team further told the court the potential consequences of the MCA’s absence from the county assembly.
“By law, prolonged absence from assembly sittings could lead to the declaration of a vacancy, potentially triggering a costly by-election,”they said.
“The taxpayers could be forced to bear the financial burden of a by-election, and this is something we need to prevent,” lawyer Shadrack Wambui told the court.
Furthermore, the court was told that tensions in Wajir County have been rising due to the continued disappearance of the lawmaker.
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