Embakasi East Member of Parliament Babu Owino has called on President William Ruto to intervene and order the immediate release of missing fisherman Brian Odhiambo.
In a statement on Friday, February 7 Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) officers suspected to have abducted Odhiambo were taken to court but were released while the fisherman remains missing.
The ODM MP highlighted the case of five chiefs who were abducted by suspected al-Shabaab militants and the government has undertaken to get the abducted chiefs back to their families as a matter of urgency.
He urged that the same level of effort be extended to Odhiambo, who has been missing for over 20 days.
“A multi-agency team is working around the clock to secure the freedom of the chiefs and bring them back. We support the effort to bring the chiefs back, but similarly, Brian Odhiambo must also be located and reunited with his distraught family.
Read More
“President Ruto, intervene and order KWS and local security agents in Nakuru to release Odhiambo and hand him over to his family, just as you have done in securing the release of the five chiefs,” said Owino.
Odhiambo went missing on Saturday, January 18, with Nakuru County locals claiming to have seen him being forcibly taken away by KWS officers from the Lake Nakuru National Park.
His alleged abduction resulted in widespread protests in Nakuru with locals demanding his release.
On Thursday Nakuru Law Courts Judge, Justice Julius Nangea ruled that there was no sufficient evidence to prove that Odhiambo had been detained by KWS officers.
"The 1st and 2nd respondents have denied having the subject in their custody and there being no sufficient evidence to the contrary, no further orders or directions will be used in relation to the habeas corpus application. Let the prosecution process that is underway take its course," Justice Nangea ruled.
