A Mombasa-based court has given Inspector General of Police, Hilary Mutyambai, 21 days to probe the disappearance of a wanted suspect who has a Ksh10 million bounty on his head.
According to court documents, Justice John Mativo castigated the police for failing or neglecting to investigate the case, noting that it has been seven months since the alleged kidnapping of the suspect.
The Judge ordered that the matter be concluded and the file forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions, Noordin Haji. for action within three weeks.
"An order of mandamus be and is hereby issued compelling the IG to immediately investigate the alleged abduction and disappearance of the suspect and forward the investigation docket to the Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji,” the Judge stated.
The wanted man is a Umma University student, who was listed among wanted terror suspects by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).
Media reports had indicated that the suspect was picked up at gunpoint at a mosque in Mombasa on October 14 last year, and his whereabouts remain unknown.
Justice Mativo questioned the motive of DCI boss, George Kinoti, to publish the wanted man's name on the list of terror suspects, days after his disappearance.
The Judge noted that police may have wanted to cover up their failure to probe the disappearance.
"The attempt by the DCI to publish a notice describing the victim as armed and dangerous, coming as it did weeks after a report was made to the police on the alleged abduction, suggests that the said notice was issued in bad faith to cover the failure to investigate,” he stated.
The alleged laxity of the police in handling the case drew criticism from human rights group which noted that such cases had increased in 2021.
“All were arrested during alleged anti-terror operations. From the available evidence, this is not normal kidnapping. Phone call data placed the subject within the abduction area,” Haki Africa Executive Director, Hussein Khalid, was quoted by The Nation.
