After a month of desperate search, two families of the three missing Mlolongo men were met with heartbreak Thursday when their loved ones’ lifeless bodies were found at the Nairobi Funeral Home, formerly City Mortuary.
The discoveries were made hours after top police bosses — Inspector General of Police (IGP) Douglas Kanja and Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Mohammed Amin — finally appeared in court, after snubbing summons on four occasions to explain the whereabouts of the three Kenyans abducted in Mlolongo in December.
Justus Mutumwa, Martin Mwau and Karani Muema were abducted between December 16 and 17 last year, and have been missing since then.
But even after appearing before Justice Chacha Mwita, the two police bosses failed to offer much about the missing men, only to state that investigations were ongoing and the abducted men were not in police custody.
“I confirm that none of the men is in our custody. But I want to assure Kenyans that they (the Kenyan public) are safe,” Mr Kanja said.
Mr Kanja appeared before the High Court in Milimani, Nairobi, wearing civilian clothing unlike Deputy Inspector-General of police Gilbert Masengeli, who appeared in court last year, donning his official uniform.
Minutes after their testimonies, Makueni Senator Dan Maanzo, a lawyer who attended the court session, told the media that he had received information that the body of Mutumwa had been found in Ruai.
According to Mutumwa's family, his body was collected from Ruai and taken to the mortuary on December 18, 2024, just two days after he went missing.
Hours after Mr Maanzo’s announcement, the second body, belonging to Mwau, was reportedly found at the city morgue.
It remains unclear where Mwau’s body was recovered before being taken to the facility. The discovery of his remains leaves only Muema unaccounted for.
For over a month, the families of the three abductees had been searching for answers regarding their disappearances.
Law Society of Kenya (LSK) filed a habeas corpus application to compel the police to produce them or their bodies in court.
Mr Kanja had earlier told the court that reports of the missing persons were made at Athi River and Mlolongo police stations, and that he immediately instructed Mr Amin to investigate the matter.
He said Mr Paul Wachira, an assistant Inspector-General of Police (IGP), was tasked with the investigations.
Mr Wachira, who was in court to give a status of the investigations, defended himself against accusations of defying court orders, despite being summoned multiple times without appearing.
“I am a law-abiding citizen who respects our courts and the orders issued at any given time,” he said.
On his part, Mr Amin said investigations were still ongoing and they were not in a position to produce the missing persons or their bodies or even recommend charges.
The DCI boss said the findings and recommendations would be forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Renson Ingonga once the investigator completes the probe.
When asked by lawyer Nyawa Malidzo and Polycap Okello when investigations into the matter will be completed, the DCI boss said that he could give a time frame due to the complexity of the matter.
Mr Wachira, the investigator, said a report about the disappearance of Mr Muema was made by his sister — Susan Muema — on December 26, 2024, indicating that he went missing on December 12, 2024.
He said the matter was under investigation and that the police had engaged various witnesses, service providers and private entities, for purposes of following available leads.
The officer indicated that they had opened two inquiry files to probe the matter deeper as reported by the relatives of the three.
“Along the process, we have encountered certain challenges of witnesses not willing to provide information and have to go the legal way,” he said, adding that they will be seeking court order to compel them to record statements.
The LSK said in the petition that the abductions were conducted in dramatic fashion and in broad daylight, some under the glare of CCTV footage.
At the same time, the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions has filed an application to be struck out from the case, saying he has no role in the disappearance.
Justice Mwita however ordered the DPP to serve his application seeking to be removed from the proceedings to all parties.
Reporting by Richard Munguti, Sam Kiplagat and Daniel Ogetta
