The High Court in Nairobi on Friday granted Deputy Inspector General of Police Gilbert Masengeli a chance to redeem himself after he was sentenced to six months in prison.
In his directive, Justice Lawrence Mugambi announced the suspension of Masengeli's sentence, which was to commence today, for seven days.
The judge went ahead to grant Masengeli the opportunity to apologise and explain why he ignored the summons a record seven times.
"Mr Gilbert Masengeli can avoid the sentence if he complies with the direction to obey the court summons," Justice Mugambi stated.
"I therefore suspend the sentence for 7 days only. He can redeem himself by availing himself before the court in person," the judge added.
Following the decision, Justice Mugambi adjourned the court proceedings for 30 minutes after which Masengeli would be allowed to comment on the case.
Before the adjournment, Masengeli had began by explaining he was unavailable because he was attending to crucial matters of national security, particularly protecting the country's borders.
Masengeli was represented by Attorney General Dorcas Oduor and lawyer Steve Ogolla.
The case which has since attracted public attention was lodged by the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) which sought the court to compel Masengeli to release Bob Njagi, Jamil Longton and his brother Aslam Longton who had been kidnapped in Kitengela.
In the petition, LSK obtained a court order directing Masengeli to appear before the court to explain the disappearance of the three individuals.
However, Masengeli failed to comply with the directive despite the court directing him to appear in court in person on several occasions.
After weeks of defying the court, Justice Mugambi found Masengeli guilty of contempt and sentenced him to six months in prison.
Even while Mugambi was sentencing Masengeli, the Deputy IG failed to show up in court.
