Barely three hours after the Inspector General of Police, Douglas Kanja, and the Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI), Mohammed Amin, appeared in court, one of the missing Mlolongo four has been found dead.
The four men from Mlolongo, Machakos County—Justus Mutumwa, Martin Mwau, Karani Mwema, and Stephen Mbisi Kavingo—went missing on December 16 and December 17, 2024. The four were reportedly taken by masked individuals believed to be police officers.
Justus Mutumwa was found dead in Ruai, and his body was moved to City Mortuary in Nairobi, according to his lawyer, Dan Maanzo. According to the lawyer, Mutumwa's body was found while the court proceedings to determine the whereabouts was still ongoing.
"A quick check of fingerprints has confirmed that it is him," Maanzo told the media.
45 days after they went missing, and despite mounting public outcry and repeated calls for answers, the police continue to deny holding the men in their custody.
While appearing in court today, both Kanja and Amin denied having taken the four into custody and claimed the police were not involved in their disappearance.
The two were summoned in court by Justice Chacha Mwita to explain the disappearance of the four and had failed to appear in two earlier summons. While appearing in court and in a bid to end the accusations levelled against the police service, Kanja told the court, ''Your honour, we have none of the subjects. I want to confirm before this court that we have none of them.''
When the DCI boss took the stand, he too insisted that the police don't have the missing persons but are in the middle of investigations to determine their whereabouts. ''I wish to confirm that the investigations are still on course, and at an appropriate time, the files will be forwarded to the ODPP,'' Amin stated.
''Finally, I wish to state that the missing persons are not under the custody of the national police service. We have not been arrested, and they are not under our custody,'' he added.
That being the case, Amin told Justice Mwita the DCI is in no position to comply with the court orders directing them to produce the three in court as uncertainty continued to mount on their whereabouts.
''We can neither present the bodies nor can we formally prefer any charges against them because they are not under our custody,'' he stated.
While addressing the media outside Milimani Law Courts, lawyer Maanzo stated, "The story that was brought to court is not the real story."
He went on to assert, "Although they have confirmed that they don't have the missing persons as police, there must be other state actors or criminals, and the responsibility solely depends on the police."
