An activist who was missing and identified as Boniface Muteti Mulinge was found after he was reportedly dumped in the Lukenya area, Machakos County.
He was missing since September 21, when he was arrested while participating in a protest over the continued detention of Uganda opposition figure Kizza Besigye.
According to human rights official Hussein Khaled, Mulinge was allegedly dumped at around 3 am Friday and later walked for a long distance to a Shell petrol station, where a Good Samaritan assisted him with a phone to contact his brother.
Mulinge was reportedly disoriented, weak and had sustained injuries when he was found. He was taken to the hospital.
A case had been filed at the Milimani Law Courts seeking orders compelling the Inspector General of Police and the Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to account for the whereabouts of Mulinge, who is reported to have gone missing after his alleged arrest during protests.
The petition, filed by Francis Awino, seeks the court’s intervention to establish where Mulinge was being held and, if he was in custody, compel the authorities to produce him before the court.
Awino filed the application under the constitutional provisions protecting personal liberty and the right to habeas corpus, asking the court to urgently inquire into Mulinge’s whereabouts and the legal basis, if any, for his detention.
According to the petition, Mulinge was allegedly arrested on or about September 21, 2026, in Nairobi during a public demonstration concerning the continued detention of Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye.
The petitioner stated that Muteti informed people within his circle that he had been arrested shortly before communication with him ceased.
His phone subsequently became unreachable, and attempts to contact him have allegedly been unsuccessful.
The petition further stated that a written notification of the intended demonstration had been delivered to the Kenya Police Service on September 16, setting out the proposed date, route and expected attendance.
Awino also cited a charge sheet dated September 22 relating to the arrest and processing of other activists in connection with events along Mama Ngina Street in Nairobi. However, Mulinge was not listed among those named in the charge sheet, according to the petition.
A report concerning Mulinge’s disappearance was subsequently made to the police on September 23 under OB No. 46, the petitioner said.
The application named the Police IG Douglas Kanja and DCI Mohammed Amin as respondents and asks them to appear before the court, either personally or through authorized representatives, with any warrant, detention order, committal warrant or other document relied upon to justify Mulinge’s arrest or continued detention.
The petitioner sought orders requiring the respondents to disclose Mulinge’s whereabouts and produce records relating to his arrest, custody, transfer, release or processing, including relevant Occurrence Book entries, station diary entries, custody records and detainee registers.
Awino argued that the application does not seek to interfere with any lawful investigation or prosecution, but is intended to establish whether Mulinge was in police, investigative, remand or any other form of custody and, if so, the legal basis for his detention.
The application asked the court to certify the matter as urgent and issue directions in the nature of habeas corpus, including an order requiring Mulinge to be produced before the court within 24 hours of service or within such shorter period as the court may direct.
He was found alive.
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