• The lot complain that the IG has not spoken on the cases of the disappearance of suspects and their lawyers despite public outcry and whenever he speaks, he is vague and non-committal.
Muslim organisations, rights activists and lawyers on Wednesday turned the heat on the police inspector general for spiking enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings allegedly committed by security agents.
They want IG of Police Hillary Mutyambai removed from office, complaining that he is too laid back and uninterested in getting the worrying trend stopped.
The lot, which included politicians such as Mvita MP Abdulswamad Nassir, complained about an apparent state policy to abduct those suspected of crime by either killing or disappearing them.
"We will not accept this trend. I urge lawyers, in as much as I will also do it, to petition for removal of Mutyambai for condoning this culture," Nassir said.
The threat of instigating the removal of the IG follows a similar stand by the Law Society of Kenya against top security guns, including Interior CS Fred Matiang'i and his PS Karanja Kibicho.
Bernard Ng'etich, a senior council member at the LSK, had given President Uhuru Kenyatta a month to sack Matiang'i and Kibicho for failure to abate the trend.
They would sue for the removal of the two instead.
The group staged a street protest in Nairobi, starting at the Supreme Court before walking to Parliament, then to Attorney General offices and finally to Mutyambia's offices to present their petition.
They complained that the IG has not spoken on the cases of the disappearance of suspects and their lawyers despite public outcry and whenever he speaks, he is vague and non-committal.
The group claimed tens of suspects are missing while others had been killed by state agents or criminal gangs in the past months.
The protest was prompted by the abduction of lawyer Hassan Nandwa and his client terrorist Elgiva Bwire on October 28.
Whereas Nandwa was released after 10 days, Elgiva is still missing and police have issued a Sh10 million bounty on his head. They say he is armed and dangerous.
LSK had planned a week-long protest over Nandwa.
“In light of the above, the Law Society of Kenya, in collaboration with other human rights defenders, shall hold consultative stakeholder meetings, to discuss among others policy, legislation and affirmative action, to prevent future enforced disappearances,” read part of the petition.
It added the LSK does not condone crimes of any nature and especially, crimes that contravene the right to freedom and security of Kenyans.
“We take cognisance of the role of security agents in providing security for all citizens, however, this should be done within the confines of the Constitution and national laws, regional and international instruments.”
“We reiterate that the Law Society of Kenya stands for the rule of law, constitutionalism and due process. It is vital that the values and principles enshrined in the Constitution of Kenya on rights and fundamental freedoms, be observed and maintained to the letter,” said the petition.
The petition by the LSK was signed by Nairobi branch chairman Eric Theuri and CEO Mercy Wambua.
Lawyer Benson Njau is also missing since February this year.
The family of Hassan Osman Dahir, 36, says he is missing since June 13, 2021. He is believed to have gone missing from Eastleigh where he ran a business.
He is a father of eight. The family says they do not know why he went missing and if he is alive.
Human rights organisations say they have so far documented up to 20 people who have disappeared since January and their bodies dumped in mortuaries, roadside thickets and on riverbanks.
The cases bear similarities, including claims of criminal activity and terrorism levelled against the victims. Police, however, deny knowledge of the cases.
They said the cases reported are still under investigation. Spokesman Bruno Shioso said they are investigating all these cases.
"All cases of missing persons are recorded and investigated separately. Some have been solved but I don’t have the exact figures," he said.
Ali Tengeza and Bakari Mbwana were picked in Mombasa in early February and their bodies found in Tsavo National Park on March 6.
According to a terror list published by police in October 2019, Tengeza and Mbwana had been marked as al Shabaab sympathisers.
They were returnees but still engaged in acts of terror in Mombasa. Police called Tengeza, 22, and Mbwana, 37, armed, dangerous and daring.
They said their acts of violence targeted security agencies and the public in Mombasa, Likoni and Kwale.
Other victims are Juma Omar and Hamish Mwinyi whose bodies were found dumped at Coast General Hospital mortuary on March 6.
Omar was 29 and Mwinyi was 17.
The other case is the Kitengela four of April 19. Police said the four—Elijah Obuong, 35, Benjamin Imbayi, 30, Brian Oduor, 36, and Jack Anyago Ochieng’, 37—had met at Club Enkare in Kitengela for lunch but were abducted at the parking lot as the vehicle remained at the club.
The bodies of Obuong, Imbayi and Oduor were discovered in the Mathioya River in Murang'a, at General Kago Funeral Home in Thika and in the Mukungai River stashed in gunny bags.
Jack Anyago has yet to be found. Police reports have linked the four to criminal activities, including robbery with violence, jumping bail, carjacking and muggings.
On April 22, Fauz Mohammed, 27, Ramadhan Omar, 23, and Brian Hamisi, 23, were separately picked from their houses in Likoni, Mombasa.
They are yet to be found dead or alive. They were picked in the wee hours in what appeared to be a coordinated operation by people believed to be anti-terror police agents.
There is also the case of Mohamed Bashir Mohamoud. The Somali-American businessman, 36, went missing on May 13 after visiting Miale entertainment lounge in Lavington, Nairobi.
His car, a black Range Rover, was traced to a thicket in the Kibiku area of Ngong burnt to a shell.
His body was discovered on the bank of a river in Kerugoya, Kirinyaga county.
-Edited by SKanyara