Exactly two years ago Administration Police officers arrested Daniel Baru in Kehancha Town, and his family hasn’t seen him since. They fear they won’t ever see him again.
On January 12, 2017, Baru was taken into custody along with Samuel Riro, Joseph Makenge, Samuel Ikwabe, Isaiah Mwita and Rael Burure.
They were accused of robbery with violence.
On May 31 last year, the High Court in Migori ordered Kehancha police station OCS Kipsaina Serem to produce Baru dead or alive before the court on June 4 last year.
Justice Anthony Murima said a lot of information in the Occurrence Book had been altered after the family filed the petition to produce him, through the Kenya National Human Rights Commission.
Baru was never produced. The court ruled that the OCS be charged with murder after failing to produce him. Serem has not been charged.
Missing Sh30,000
Baru’s wife, or widow, Rebeccah Boke, told the Star on Friday that she believed a miracle would happen some day.
She said trouble might have started when Baru found that Sh30,000 he was carrying at the time of his arrest was missing.
“He had the money because he wanted to buy a cow but when he was arrested, he had to empty his pockets and surrender personal belongings,” she said. All items are supposed to be recorded by police, placed in safe keeping and returned when a suspect is released.
But when the men were released, Baru found the money was missing. “When he asked for it, he was returned to the cells. His whereabouts remain unknown,” Boke said.
The mother of three now provides single-handedly for three children, aged 11, 13 and 15.
“The last time I spoke to him he said he had been separated from the rest of the men after he asked police to return the Sh30,000 they took from him when he was arrested,” she said.
If Baru is dead, she wants the body to bury.
It hasn’t been easy to care for the children. The eldest is in Std 7 and she has to save for Form 1 fees.
“It’s been tough,” she said. As Boke begins her third year without her husband, she said she has surrendered everything to God in hopes the children will be taken care of.
Missing Sh30,000
Baru’s case is one of many prominent cases of alleged extrajudicial killings by police.
Others include the murders of International Justice Mission lawyer Willy Kimani, his client Josephat Mwenda and their driver Joseph Muiruri. They were abducted by AP officers and found murdered in June 2016.
IJM head of communications Joseph Kariuki said they are doing everything possible to ensure Baru’s family gets justice.
“We are pushing the DPP to ensure the OCS is charged with murder as directed by the court. The court ruled that Baru had died since he could not be produced as ordered,” Kariuki said.