Court summons DCI boss Mohammed Amin over blogger Ndiangui Kinyagia's disappearance
While issuing the directive, Justice Chacha Mwita said the DCI should come and explain Kinyagia's whereabouts, as the DCI officers were the last known individuals to visit his residence before his disappearance.
The High Court has ordered the Director of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), Mohammed Amin, to appear in court personally on July 3 to explain the whereabouts of missing blogger Ndiangui Kinyagia.
While issuing the directive, Justice Chacha Mwita said DCI boss Amin should appear and explain Kinyagia's whereabouts, as the DCI officers were the last known individuals to visit the blogger's residence.
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"I have heard you and read the pleadings. The DCI officers visited his residence, and they are the only ones who were there when he disappeared. The caretaker has not sworn an affidavit. The DCI searched, and this person disappeared. We need an explanation as to where he is," the judge said.
Justice Mwita further said that the court does not require Inspector General Douglas Kanja to appear, but insisted that Amin must personally account for the directorate's actions. "I direct the DCI director to appear personally on July 3 before this court to answer on the matter".
The High Court, meanwhile, ordered IG Kanja to produce Kinyagia in court without fail or explain why he cannot be found.
"This is an application of habeas corpus touching on a Kenyan who is a human being... I have taken into account the fact that the second applicant has not been found for 10 days and that the life of a citizen is in danger."
Justice Mwita directed that the application be served on the respondents by close of business Monday, with responses due within seven days. In a decisive move, Justice Mwita ordered the IG to either produce Kinyagia in court or provide a satisfactory explanation by 11:00 am tomorrow during an in-person mention of the matter.
The application was filed after Kinyagia's whereabouts remained unknown for over a week, raising alarm over possible enforced disappearance.
Last week, the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) filed a petition seeking the court to compel police to produce a missing activist who was allegedly abducted by masked men believed to be plainclothes police officers.
In an application filed under a certificate of urgency, LSK said Kinyagia was allegedly abducted on June 21 in Kinoo.
It wanted the court to issue an order of habeas corpus directing the government, including top government officials and law enforcement agencies, to immediately produce Kinyagia.
According to court documents, Kinyagia was abducted 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.
Senior Counsel Martha Karua has sharply criticised the DCI for what she describes as flagrant defiance of court orders.
"There has been no compliance. They are not taking the orders of this court seriously," said Karua. "It is their business to find him — that's why we pay them."
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