The High Court has dismissed an application by the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) and Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah seeking to compel the government to release eight individuals allegedly abducted by police in December 2024 and January 2025.
Justice Bahati Mwamuye, in dismissing the application that sought to compel Inspector General Douglas Kanja and DCI Director Amin Mohamed to produce the missing persons in court-either alive or dead-ruled that LSK and Omtatah failed to provide sufficient evidence to show that the individuals were in police custody.
In his ruling, the judge stated that the petitioners did not adequately substantiate their claims that the missing persons, including some who had already been released earlier this year, were being held by police. "They did not establish that the seven individuals are in the custody of the respondents, nor did they satisfy the court that the seven, along with an eighth individual, are being unlawfully detained by either known or unknown persons," said Justice Mwamuye.
The court noted that six of the eight alleged abductees had already reappeared from locations unrelated to police custody. "The remaining two persons are still missing, and there is no evidence that they are being held in police custody, or in any other known place that would require the court to issue a writ of habeas corpus.
