Court dismisses bid to compel release of alleged abduction victims

The High Court has dismissed an application by the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) and Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah to compel the government to release individuals allegedly abducted by the police in December 2024 and January 2025.

Judge Bahati Mwamuye, in dismissing the application, ruled that LSK and Omtatah failed to provide sufficient evidence to show that the missing persons were in police custody.

 In his ruling, the judge stated that the petitioners did not adequately substantiate their claims that the missing individuals, including some who had been freed earlier this year, were in police custody.

"They did not establish that the seven individuals are in the custody of the respondents, nor did they satisfy the court that the seven, along with an eighth individual, are being illegally detained by either known or unknown persons," Justice Mwamuye ruled.

The petitioners had claimed these individuals were in police custody after they were abducted by armed men believed to officers.

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