High Court orders police to produce missing Mlolongo 4 abduction victims, dead or alive

High Court orders police to produce missing Mlolongo 4 abduction victims, dead or alive

High Court Judge Chacha Mwita has issued a final order to Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja and Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Mohammed Amin to immediately release four men who went missing in Mlolongo in December 2024.

The ruling comes after both Kanja and Amin failed to appear in court to address the abductions, prompting the judge to demand compliance with previous orders to explain the whereabouts of the missing individuals.

Lawyers representing the missing men, including Polycarp Okello and Nyawa Malidzo, have called for the IG and DCI director to be held in contempt of court due to their failure to comply with the court’s directives.

Neither Kanja, Amin, nor their lawyers appeared in court, either in person or virtually, as required, to present evidence concerning the missing persons.

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) also informed the court that he did not know the police chiefs’ whereabouts or the reasons for their absence.

The DPP sought to be removed from the case.

“From the orders granted and the orders sought in this petition, indeed, the DPP has no role in matters involving cases of abductions, security matters, or the arrest and detention of individuals. We therefore pray that the DPP be expunged from these proceedings.”

But Justice Mwita demanded that Kanja and Amin appear in court in person on Friday, January 17, at 10 am, with an explicit order to present the three men — Justus Mutumwa, Martin Mwau, and Karani Mwema — either alive or dead.

The four men, who were allegedly abducted from Mlolongo, Machakos County on December 16 and 17, 2024, have been missing for nearly 22 days.

Despite their families reporting the disappearances to both the Mlolongo Police Station and the DCI headquarters in Athi River, no updates on their whereabouts have been provided.

A neighbour who witnessed the abduction of one of the men, Kavingo, recounted seeing four masked individuals dressed in blue, pink and red forcibly take him from his home.

The men reportedly bundled Kavingo into a car before driving off.

Mwau, Muema, and Mutumwa were taken the previous day.

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