Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja and DCI boss Mohamed Amin failed to appear in court again in a case filed by human rights organisations over the abduction of three Kenyans.
According to their lawyer, Advocate Paul Nyamodi, who appeared in court on Friday, January 17, the two were not served properly, hence their absence in court.
IG Kanja and Amin were expected to appear before Justice Chacha Mwita to detail the whereabouts of the three people who were allegedly abducted in Mlolongo.
The three abductees whose families are seeking answers over their whereabouts are Justus Mutumwa, Martin Mwau and Karani Muema.
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"The affidavit of service sworn on January 13 is not proof of service by way of electronic mail as it does not state that email addresses through which the IG and DCI were purportedly served, were their last confirmed and used email addresses."
In his direction, Justice Chacha Mwita noted that he had listened to arguments made by both sides and would be issuing a ruling on whether the police bosses will be required to appear in court on Thursday, January 23.
"I will consider your arguments and because of the work we have, I will deliver my ruling on the 23rd of this month at 11 am in open court," the judge directed.
"The orders issued on December 28th and affirmed on January 13 remain in force until then."
What the law says about disobeying court summons
According to the Witness Summonses (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act, one can be fined Ksh500,000 for failing to honour court summons.
"Any person who has been served with a summons under this Act and has not been excused from complying therewith by an order made under section 7 or section 8 of this Act, shall if he fails to obey the summons, be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding Ksh500,000."
IG Kanja, DCI boss Amin, and the police have been in the spotlight over the recent widespread abductions and have even been sued in court for the same.
Notably, amid the sharp criticism from Kenyans, the police have maintained that they are not responsible for the abductions.
The government, through Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen, has also expressed support for the police and even called on Kenyans to appreciate the immense work done by the police to protect Kenyans.
"It is therefore shameful that a stranger in Kenya would not know how effective our policing has been if all they were to go with was legacy and social media sentiments by a few," he wrote in an opinion piece published in one of the local dailies.
"Because the security and administration sector is functioning, it is easy to assume it has always been so and will continue to be even if we plunder it."
