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New Delhi court renews search for Indians linked to Ruto’s presidential campaign
Zulfiqar Ahmad Khan (left) and inset, with Mr Mohammad Zaid Sami Kidwai (with beards). The two disappeared in Kenya in July 2022.
The disappearance in Kenya of two Indians who went missing in the run-up to last year's general election was the subject of a court case in India this week.
Mr Zulfiqar Ahmad Khan, Mr Zaid Sami Kidwai and their Kenyan driver, Mr Nicodemus Mwania, went missing on 22 July last year.
The Indians had been linked to the presidential campaigns of then-Deputy President William Ruto.
President Ruto disbanded a special police unit blamed for the disappearances after taking office in October last year.
At the New Delhi High Court this week, a judge heard that the abduction of the two Indians appeared to be 'politically motivated' and that efforts to obtain information about their whereabouts from the Kenyan and Indian authorities had been unsuccessful.
The court ordered the Indian government to submit a detailed report on the circumstances leading to the disappearance of the two Indians.
The ministries of external affairs and home affairs were asked to provide the information to the court following a petition by Ms Anis Fatima Zacharia, a sister of Mr Zulfiqar.
Justice Subramonium Prasad asked that the status report be submitted to the court within the next two weeks.
The hearing on the petition is scheduled to begin next month in the Delhi High Court.
In the petition, Ms Fatima alleged that her brother was detained in Kenya before he went missing last year, just days before the Kenyan elections.
"To the best of the knowledge of the petitioner and her family, they are being detained under the authority and on the instructions of the local Kenyan police. Further, the petitioner has no information as to the whereabouts of her brother, his friend and driver as of today, whether they are alive or not and whether they are being detained," said the petition, filed through lawyers Nishant Singh and Sagrika Tanwar.
Ms Fatima told the court that the family had made several representations to the Indian embassy in Nairobi and had also filed a habeas corpus petition in the Kenyan High Court, but to no avail.
The court heard that information was also sent to the offices of the Prime Minister of India and the Minister of External Affairs, but no satisfactory action has been taken so far.
"The abduction allegedly appears to be politically motivated, for which not much help has been forthcoming despite numerous efforts, which are still ongoing, by the petitioner and the rest of the family with the Kenyan authorities. The family has not been informed of the status of the investigation, nor have they received any other information from the Kenyan authorities," she said.
Ms Fatima asked the court to direct the Indian authorities to use all possible channels to coordinate with the Kenyan authorities to ascertain her brother's whereabouts.
She accused the Kenyan police officers of unlawfully and arbitrarily intercepting the vehicle in which they were travelling.
Mr Khan, who was reportedly supposed to be working with President Ruto's media team ahead of the recent elections, his friend and the local taxi driver disappeared while travelling along Mombasa Road.
The three were last seen alive at a popular joint along Parklands Road in Westlands sub-county. They had left the joint in a Toyota Fielder car.
Immediately after the trio went missing, Ms Ambreen Kidwai, Mr Kidwai's wife, who was waiting for them at a hotel along Mombasa Road where they were sleeping, reported the matter to Parklands Police Station but was turned away.
On 23 July 2022, officers at the station told her that she could only file a missing person's report after 48 hours had elapsed.
Mr Khan had worked with a number of top media houses in India, including Balaji Telefilms, where he served as Chief Operating Officer (COO). Other media houses he has worked for include; Eros, Star TV India and Warner Brothers.
The media personality had travelled to Kenya on a tourist visa and arrived on June 24, 2022.
The Saturday Nation understands that they were due to leave the country on 20 August 2022.
Meanwhile, Mr Mwania's family has never accepted a media interview, with a close family member telling the Saturday Nation in confidence that they fear something bad might happen to them.
"They are really worried about what might have happened and are not ready to talk," the family member said.
The matter is already before a Kenyan court, with eight members of the disbanded Special Service Unit (SSU) facing charges over their disappearance.
The eight - Joseph Mwenda Mbaya, David Chepcheng Kipsoi, Stephen Luseno Matunda, Paul Njogu Muriithi, Simon Muhuga Gikonyo, Peter Muthee Gachiku, John Mwangi Kamau and Joseph Kamau Mbugua - were released by the court on Sh500,000 personal bail.
Giving the order for their release, Kahawa Law Courts Chief Magistrate Diana Mochache instructed the officers not to interfere with witnesses and to make themselves available to investigators whenever needed, failing which their bail would be cancelled.
During the hearing, the court was informed that the three may have been murdered.
An affidavit filed in court by the investigating officer, Mr Michael Kirui, did not give details of the motive behind the alleged murder of the trio.
