Lawyer Philip Lagat with Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah and advocate Felix Keaton at the Milimani law court in Nairobi, Monday, December 30, 2024.
Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah has this morning filed a habeous corpus petition before the High Court seeking the production of Kibet Bull and five others before court who are believed to have been abducted by security agents and are still missing.
Omtatah moved to the High Court seeking orders to force the police and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to produce seven youths abducted in December whether dead or alive.
In the application filed before the High Court in Kibera today, Omtatah through lawyer Philip Langat has sued the Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja, the Director, Directorate of Criminal Investigations Amin Mohamed and the Director of Public Prosecutions Renson Igonga.
He wants the officers to produce the bodies of Gideon Kibet, Ronny Kiplagat, Steve Kavingo Mbisi, Billy Mwangi, Peter Muteti, Bernard Kavuli and Kelvin Muthoni.
Alternatively, Omtatah wants the court to order the immediate release of the seven from detention.
Alternatively, Omtatah wants the immediate release of the seven abductees from detention.
The Senator said that Kibet was the recent abductee on December 24, 2024 while leaving his offices.
Omtatah said that these growing cases of abduction represents an alarming trend of enforced disappearance of youths opposing the government in the country which is against with the law,
“The increasing cases of abduction is alarming and it is against the rights and fundamental freedoms enriched by the constitution, 2010.” Omtatah said.
He said that Bull visited his office to introduce himself with the aim of exploring on how to join his team since he support what he does before his scheduled travel on Friday December 27, 2024 to Israel to join Telaviv University.
Kibet informed him that he is strong supporter of his work and he had travelled to Nairobi from Nakuru that morning and told him that he would be staying at his brother’s place in Kikuyu before leaving the country.
As soon as he arrived at his office, Omtata’s security team informed him that they monitored a white Subaru Forester vehicle registration number KCG 089A which parked opposite his office and it was mounted with suspected FlexiSpy communication gadgets on its roof which are used to intercept phone communication.
The security team noted that the vehicle had four occupants, three men and a lady who never disembark for the entire time it was there and its engine kept running all through.
It left there shortly after Kibet had left.
The senator said that the registration details of the said Subaru was fake,
“The details that popped from NTSA indicated that the vehicle was a white Station Wagon belonging to Catherine Kalaju,” he said.
The senator believes that the white Subaru Forester mounted with suspected Flexispy communication gadgets on its roof belongs to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations DCI which owns similar vehicles and that it was trailing Kibet.
“I also demand they take similar action to the abduction of the other six.” Omtatah added.
Otherwise the two should resign from office if they genuinely don’t know who is conducting the abductions and disappearance of the youths since it is clear indication of their incompetency to hold their offices,
“Let them resign because they have miserably failed in their mandates to protect Kenyans from enforced disappearance which are gross violation of the rule of law and have no place in Kenya today.” The Senator said.
Omtatah further indicated that the acts of enforced disappearance is criminal act under international law where Kenya has signed the International Convention of the protection of all persons of against enforced disappearance.
