Premium
Court orders IT expert Kinyagia to explain disappearance
IT expert Ndiang’ui Kinyagia has been ordered by the High Court to file an affidavit explaining his whereabouts from June 21, 2025, following allegations by the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) that he may have faked his own disappearance.
Justice Chacha Mwita directed both Kinyagia and one Lilian Wanjiku Gitonga to file affidavits detailing the circumstances of his disappearance by September 16, 2025.
“You are hereby ordered to file an affidavit explaining where you had vanished to. This is a very important matter to the nation, as your disappearance was a matter of grave concern to everyone,” Justice Mwita told Kinyagia.
The judge noted that all security agencies had been questioned about the incident. He further advised Kinyagia to engage legal counsel emphasising the seriousness of the case.
“I want to emphasise that you must explain where you had disappeared to. Everyone was and remains concerned about your disappearance,” said Justice Mwita.
Kinyagia was also directed to disclose everything he knows about the matter in the affidavit. The court further instructed that he will take the witness stand to testify and be cross-examined.
Ms Gitonga, who filed an affidavit a day before Kinyagia resurfaced, will also be subjected to cross-examination.
Kinyagia was additionally ordered to serve the affidavit to all parties named as respondents by the LSK and his relatives — including the Attorney General, the Inspector General of Police, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
The judge’s directives followed a request by the LSK to withdraw from the case. The LSK had initially claimed that Kinyagia had been abducted by state agents under suspicious circumstances and had sought a court order compelling the DCI to produce him in court through a habeas corpus application.
However, the DCI, through the Attorney General, told the court that they had not arrested Kinyagia and did not have him in custody.
IT expert and blogger Ndiang'ui Kinyagia appear before the Milimani High Court on July 24, 2025, where he was given 14 days to file an affidavit explaining where he was when he went missing on June 21, 2025. He is set to testify on September 16, 2025.
The LSK now claims that subsequent investigations revealed Kinyagia had gone into hiding voluntarily — a move they say undermined the credibility of the entire case.
Through its lawyers, V R Advocates & Partners LLP, the LSK has applied to cease representing Kinyagia, citing conflicting information and a breakdown of trust.
In a sworn affidavit, Advocate Moses Mutungi Kioko stated that Kinyagia’s statements, as well as information provided by his family, were “very contradictory to the facts in this matter.”
“The contradictions have made it extremely difficult to continue representing him,” the affidavit reads, adding that multiple attempts to reach consensus had failed.
The firm has asked the court to allow them to withdraw entirely from representing Kinyagia.
Despite this, Justice Mwita granted Kinyagia 14 days to file his affidavit and set the matter for hearing on September 16, 2025.
The petition had originally raised alarm over alleged enforced disappearances.
Last week, LSK President Faith Odhiambo asked the court to allow cross-examination of Kinyagia, his cousin Lilian Wanjiku Gitonga, and his mother Margaret Rukwaro.
Odhiambo said an affidavit filed by Gitonga on July 3 contradicted earlier information shared with the LSK before and after Kinyagia resurfaced following his unexplained 13-day absence.
“We want to make an application before the hearing begins, based on an affidavit sworn by Lilian Wanjiku Gitonga. My Lord, this affidavit is in stark contrast to the information we were earlier given,” said Odhiambo.
Law Society of Kenya President Faith Odhiambo.
She noted that the inconsistencies raised serious concerns and warranted the questioning of all involved.
“We are seeking to cross-examine Mr Ndiang’ui Kinyagia, Ms Lilian Gitonga, and Ms Margaret Rukwaro, as pertinent concerns have arisen from the contents of the affidavit,” she added.
The LSK president also noted that the society had not been informed about Gitonga’s affidavit beforehand, despite being a petitioner in the matter.
Justice Mwita had earlier directed both LSK and Kinyagia to meet and agree on the contents of the affidavit to be filed in court.
