A court on Wednesday ordered Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja to produce
four missing Mlolongo men in court.
The four 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.
Justice Chacha Mwita issued the orders in a petition filed by the Law Society of Kenya for the unconditional release of Justus Mutumwa, Martin Mwau, Karani Mwema, and Stephen Mbisi Kavingo, who were picked at Mulolongo and whose whereabouts are unknown to date.
The IG was further ordered to present them personally in court on January 13, 2025.
"A conservatory order is hereby issued directing the Inspector General of Police and the Director of Criminal Investigations in their official and personal capabilities to immediately and unconditionally release Justus Mutumwa, Martin Mwau, Karani Mwema, and Stephen Kavingo," the court order reads.
"That in the alternative, an order of Habeas Corpus is hereby issued directing the Inspector General of Police and the Director of Criminal Investigations to personally produce bodies of Justus Mutumwa, Martin Mwau, Karani Mwema, and Stephen Kavingo before this court on January 13 at 10 am," it reads.
The families of the four young men, missing for 23 days, are gripped by fear and uncertainty about their sons' fates.
They were allegedly abducted in Mlolongo area on December 16 and 17 2024.
The families said it was not clear what motivated the move.
Kavingo had just finished showering, and his wife was in the bedroom when he encountered four men. She recounted the incident over the phone.
Three of his colleagues, Mwau, Mwema, and Mutumwa, were allegedly abducted a day before Kavingo vanished.
The families of the four are in fear over the whereabouts of their loved ones.
Families have so far reported the incidents to the Mlolongo Police Station and the DCI headquarters in Athi River.
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. They are a group operating outside the police premises.
The police bosses have also been summoned to court over a different case of six men who had allegedly been abducted and later released.
They are supposed to appear in court on January 27.
High court judge Bahati Mwamuye warned failure to comply with the order could result in sentencing and conviction.
This is after the police bosses failed to personally appear in court on
Wednesday following a court order.
Their lawyer Paul Nyamodi told the court that IG Kanja was unable to attend
court due to an urgent security meeting.
