High Court to rule on IG Kanja's plea to lift summons over missing Mlolongo men

The high court will on January 23 make a ruling on whether to allow the application by the Inspector General of police Douglas Kanja to lift the orders it issued directing him to appear and explain whereabouts of the four men abducted in Mlolongo in December last year or produce them.

Kanja made the application through his lawyer Paul Nyamodi urging Justice Chacha Mwita to vacate the summons he issued on January 8 and 13 to explain where Justus Mutumbwa, Martin Mwau, Kalani Muema and Stephen Kavingo are held or bring them to court dead or alive.

The IG made the application jointly with the Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Mohamed Amin who was also required to appear before the court over the same matters, but he did not.

In the application through Nyamodi, Kanja and Amin claimed that they were not served with the orders of the court appropriately and also that they were denied an opportunity to be heard before orders on such serious matter were given.

"The orders granted by this court on January 8 and 13 are final orders as they determine with finality the application dated January 8, 2025, which orders were granted without hearing (Kanja and Amin's) responses or affording them an opportunity to be heard contrary to the express provisions of Article 50, 25 and 47 of the Constitution," the application reads in part.

"The court having made the orders it did on January 8, the notice of motion application of even date, is for all intents and purposes, expended and there is nothing substantive remaining for determination unless the said orders are set aside, vacated or lifted."

Nyamodi explained to the court that the orders as they are, indicate with conclusion that the four missing men are in custody of the police when one of the possible responses by Kanja could be that they are not being detained by the police.

The lawyer also said the orders were not appropriately served to the IG and DCI because they were sent through electronic mail which he said did not follow the set procedure of confirming whether the email address is the "last confirmed and used email address" of the recipients.

Nyamodi said the email addresses through which the orders were sent are not the ones used by the IG and DCI respectively.

However, the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) which sought the orders opposed the application.

Lawyer John Nyawa said the IG and DCI denied themselves the opportunity to be heard by failing to appear in court and their argument should not be entertained.

"The orders (were) issued by the court to enforce the constitution are public interests for protection of human rights," stated Nyawa.

"The court is kind enough to order they be released and in the alternative (Kanja and Amin) to appear in court. The question of fair hearing can't arise when you have been given an opportunity and declined to use it," he added.