The High Court has given the Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja the last chance to appear in court and explain what happened to the abducted youths or be jailed for contempt.
Kanja and DCI Mohamed Amin were ordered to personally appear in court on Wednesday but they skipped the session.
Their lawyer Paul Nyamodi told court that the two security chiefs were ready to attend court but a serious security matter arose requiring their attention.
Petitioners represented by Senior Counsel Kalonzo Musyoka told the court the matter could not proceed if the police boss was not personally present in court.
Justice Bahati Mwamuye adjourned the session for 30 minutes to allow Nyamodi to reach out to the IG to present himself in court.
When proceedings resumed, Nyamodi informed the court that he was unable to reach the IG and that officers in his office said he had left early in the morning for an urgent security meeting.
The judge said the situation had left him with only three options; to cite the IG for court contempt, issue a warrant of arrest and sentence the officer to jail.
"But I will not do that now. I will give the IG a last chance to appear before this court before I opt for the first option and invite him for mitigation before sentencing," Justice Mwamuye said.
Nyamodi had asked the court to give police 14 days to record statements of those abductees who have been released.