Masengeli gets 14 days to defend his job in case seeking his ouster

The High Court has given Deputy Inspector General of Police Gilbert Masengeli a final chance to respond to a lawsuit seeking to declare him unfit for office.

This follows his conviction and six-month sentence last year for failing to comply with seven court orders to answer questions about disappearance of activist Bob Njagi, and brothers Jamil and Aslam Longton.

Justice Bahati Mwamuye on Tuesday ordered Masengeli to file a response within 14 days, warning that failure to do so will result in the petitioner’s lawyer Charles Mugane proceeding with the hearing scheduled for March 2025.

“Masengeli has 14 days from today to file any reply or further supplementary affidavit to the petition. After the lapse of this period, the petitioner shall continue and file written submissions within 21 days before hearing on March 4, 2025, at 10:30am virtually,” Justice Mwamuye directed.

The court’s order came after Masengeli’s lawyer, Cecil Miller, apologised for the delay in submitting a response and requested seven days to file their pleadings. 

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Miller explained that the delay was due to uncertainty regarding whether the petitioner, lawyer Mugane, intended to continue with the lawsuit following Masengeli’s conviction and sentence being suspended after he finally appeared in court.

“The contention was the conviction and sentence for six months which has now been set aside. We failed to respond as we did not know whether the petitioner still sought to proceed with the lawsuit. We apologise and seek seven days to file our pleadings,” Miller told the court.

Mugane, who filed the petition in September last year, informed the court that neither Masengeli nor the National Police Service Commission had responded.

The court heard the only response filed so far from the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), which filed a supporting affidavit endorsing the lawsuit.

The lawsuit comes days after the police boss was found guilty of contempt of court for snubbing seven court orders before Milimani Hih Court Judge Lawrence Mugambi, raising concerns about his ability to lead.

Mugane says Masengeli is unfit to hold public office as his actions represent a severe breach of the rule of law. The lawyer contends that by disregarding court orders, Masengeli sent a troubling message to the National Police Service that compliance with judicial directives is a matter of personal discretion rather than an obligation.  

“That the message sent by the acts of the contemnor, especially to members of the National Police Service, is that compliance with court orders is a choice to be exercised at their sole discretion and convenience.” 

This assertion reflects a growing frustration within the legal community and civil society regarding the perceived impunity displayed by high-ranking officials including the recent actions displayed by his boss Douglas Kanja and DCI boss Amin Mohammed over the abductions cases pending in court.

Mugane’s petition highlights the severity of the situation, emphasizing that “the blatant disregard of court orders by the very person at the helm of the institution that is charged with the responsibility of enforcing court orders ought to be an extreme concern to all.

The implications of such disregard, he argues, render the jurisdiction of Kenya “ungovernable, unruly, disorderly, topsy-turvy, chaotic, and a state of anarchy. Such a breakdown in the rule of law is described as something that cannot, at the very minimum, be condoned.”

The petition further underscores the societal implications of Masengeli’s actions, noting that it is “disturbing to the conscience of the right-thinking members of the Kenyan society” that an officer of his caliber could so openly flout the law.