LSK petitions High Court to compel police to produce abducted activist-lawyer Ndiangui Kinyangia

LSK petitions High Court to compel police to produce abducted activist-lawyer Ndiangui Kinyangia

LSK wants the court to issue an order of habeas corpus, directing the government, including top government officials and law enforcement agencies, to produce Ndiangui immediately.

The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) has petitioned the High Court to compel police to produce a missing activist-lawyer, Ndiangui Kinyangia, allegedly abducted by masked men suspected to be plainclothes officers.

In an application filed under urgency, LSK claims that Kinyangia was allegedly abducted on June 21 in Kinoo.

It wants the court to issue an order of habeas corpus, directing the government, including top government officials and law enforcement agencies, to produce Ndiangui immediately.

According to court documents, Ndiangui was taken by unidentified men armed with handguns, masked in balaclavas, and driving unmarked vehicles with distorted number plates.

Since the abduction, the family says they have not received any communication regarding the whereabouts or status of their kin.

"The disappearance is linked to the activist's vocal presence on social media and their active engagement in civic matters. Efforts to trace them have proved futile, with family members reporting the incident at Kinoo Police Station under OB Number 16/23/06/2025", court documents read.

According to LSK, no charges have been preferred against him, nor has there been any formal arraignment in court.

"This is a blatant violation of Article 49 of the Constitution and a breach of the Criminal Procedure Code."

The petition seeks, among other orders, a conservatory order restraining further abductions or incommunicado detention by the respondents, and that senior government officials be summoned to court to explain the disappearance.

The petitioners are invoking Section 389 of the Criminal Procedure Code and several constitutional provisions to demand accountability and transparency.

They argue that the conduct of the respondents poses a direct threat to the rule of law and the constitutional order, warning of possible national unrest if such disappearances continue unchecked.

"This honourable Court has a duty to safeguard the rights of not only the 2nd Petitioner but the public at large," reads part of the petition. "The continued silence and inaction of the respondents is alarming, especially in light of recent public statements by senior officials denying knowledge of ongoing abductions," reads court papers.

They also say the activist is held incommunicado and no one knows their whereabouts as their mobile phones are switched off.

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