A grieving wife’s desperate cry of “Where is my husband?” pierced the silence of a packed High Court courtroom on Tuesday, triggering emotional scenes as families of three missing men broke down, chanted for justice and demanded answers from the State over the disappearance of their loved ones.
The dramatic outburst forced Justice Alexander Muteti to briefly halt proceedings before restoring calm and directing Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja and Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Mohamed Amin to personally appear before him on Monday to explain the whereabouts of the three missing men.
The emotional scenes erupted moments after lawyers representing the Inspector General and the DCI informed the court that the two security chiefs had failed to honour summons requiring them to appear in person because they were attending an urgent security planning meeting.
State counsel Paul Nyamodi told the court that the Inspector General and the DCI Director were unavailable due to official engagements and requested the court to assign another date for their attendance.
“The Inspector General and the DCI Director are involved in an urgent security planning meeting. If the court still requires their attendance, we request another date and time when they can appear,” Nyamodi submitted.
He further told the court that senior police officers, including the OCSs of Buruburu and Ruai police stations, the Buruburu Sub-County Criminal Investigations Officer and the Nairobi Regional Police Commander, had attended the proceedings on behalf of the respondents.
Nyamodi maintained that the three missing men, Macmillan Kiarie Mugo, Evans Otieno Omondi and Michael Oloo Osoro, are not being held by either the National Police Service or the Directorate of Criminal Investigations.
“It is our clients’ position that the three missing persons are not in police custody,” he said while seeking time to file responses to the habeas corpus applications.
The State also argued that the applications filed before the court did not meet the legal threshold for the orders sought.
Lawyers representing the families, led by Advocate Abner Mango, opposed the request, insisting that the country’s top police commanders had a constitutional duty to obey court orders and personally account for the fate of the missing men.
Mango argued that the Inspector General and the DCI Director head institutions with the capacity to determine the whereabouts of every Kenyan.
“The Inspector General and the DCI Director have the apparatus to know where every Kenyan is. If they say these three men are not in police custody, then they should tell this court who has them. Cases of enforced disappearances have become too many, and this is an opportunity for the security chiefs to shed light on the fate of the victims,” Mango submitted.
As Justice Muteti prepared to deliver his ruling, a woman believed to be the wife of one of the missing men stood up and broke into tears.
“Where is my husband? It is now 25 days since he disappeared. I have searched every police station in Nairobi and nobody can tell me where he is,” she cried.
Her emotional appeal sparked chants from relatives and activists who demanded justice, forcing court orderlies to intervene after one activist stripped naked in protest while others waved flags and shouted slogans inside the courtroom.
After order was restored, Justice Muteti urged the families to remain calm and allow the legal process to take its course.
“When you come to court, have faith that we are undertaking a process recognised by the law. Let us maintain decorum so that everyone leaves knowing they have been heard. When this matter comes up for hearing, both sides will be given an opportunity to present their case, and the court will render its decision,” the judge said.
He then directed Inspector General Kanja and DCI Director Amin to appear before him in person on Monday, July 20, at 1 p.m., warning that they must attend without fail.
The judge also gave the two security chiefs until Friday to file replying affidavits to the habeas corpus applications lodged by the families.
The applications were filed by Rose Sopi, the wife of Michael Oloo Osoro; Pamela Aloo, the wife of Evans Otieno Omondi; and Beatrice Wanjira, the mother of Macmillan Kiarie Mugo, together with Siasa Place.
They allege that the three men were abducted in separate incidents by armed men believed to be security officers before disappearing without trace.
According to court documents, Oloo was allegedly seized from a barbershop in Buruburu, Otieno disappeared after being picked up from a shop in Ruai, while Kiarie was allegedly bundled into a vehicle shortly after leaving his home in Githurai.
Through lawyers led by former Law Society of Kenya President Faith Odhiambo and Advocate Abner Mango, the families are asking the High Court to compel the State to produce the three men alive or dead or explain where they are being held.
