Masengeli unfit to hold public office, lawyers say of defiant IG

Acting Police Inspector General (IG) of Police Gilbert Masengeli addresses the press on 7th August 2024 at Jogoo House in Nairobi. [File, Standard] Moments after Acting Inspector General of Police Gilbert Masengeli defied court summons for the seventh time, some of the country's legal minds sought to have the court declare him unsuitable to hold public office. Former Law Society of Kenya presidents Nelson Havi and Eric Theuri yesterday asked High Court Judge Lawence Mugambi to commit Masengeli to civil jail for a period of six months for defying court orders. "The conduct of the IG must be dealt with by the court and in the strongest terms possible," Said Havi, adding: "We ask you to convict the holder of the office of IG for contempt of court. Sentence him to the highest penal consequence. The office he holds is not a personal but public office." Havi has also urged the court to impose a fine to be borne by Masengeli in his personal capacity and be deducted from his salary. Senior counsel Ahmednasir Abdulahi and Member of the Committee of Experts that wrote the current Constitution Boby Mkangi yesterday said the office of Inspector General of Police [deserved an individual who holds the law in high regard. Masengeli, the man in charge of protecting Kenyans, albeit in acting capacity, has continuously defied High Court summons regarding the disappearance of three men abducted in Kitengela last month. In what many see as an act of impunity, Masengeli, instead of appearing before court to provide answers regarding the disappearance, was yesterday said to be busy conducting official tours in the North Eastern region. He resorted to sending Deputy Inspector General of Kenya Police Service Eliud Lagat on his behalf. Havi said he did not expect a government composed of individuals who had fought for reforms, including the defeat of the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) and the nullification of unlawful administrative decisions under President Uhuru Kenyatta, to take the country back to the perilous path of abductions, assassinations, extra-judicial killings, and enforced disappearances. "The abduction and feared enforced disappearance of Bob Njagi, Jamil Longton, and Nadim Hamed by the National Police Service is a call to action for all advocates. The abductions and enforced disappearances are sanctioned by elite units such as the National Intelligence Service (NIS) or the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI). Masengeli may just be an administrative figure who doesn't know what is happening, but as the man in charge, he must take responsibility," Havi noted. The former LSK president claimed that the police had even threatened the Judiciary and that all Kenyans must defend it to ensure those in power to respect and follow the law. Speaking to The Standard yesterday Havi said "Lazarus Opicho was the Commandant of the Police Unit formed by Chief Justice Martha Koome to protect judges. He was the one sent today to threaten Justice Lawrence Mugambi from holding Acting IG Gilbert Masengeli in contempt of court. That, friends, is Kenya for you," Havi said. Constitutional lawyer Bob Mukangi said the act of ignoring court summons by an officer at the level of IG is impunity of the highest order and the courts must use other ways of dealing with him. Mkangi said the court's final decision was highly anticipated. "We cannot say that Masengeli's defiance of court orders is a failure of the law or its execution. There may be technicalities involved," he added. Mukangi also expressed disappointment, noting that even 14 years after promulgation of the new Constitution, Kenya continues to struggle with accountability. "In civilized nations, the State takes responsibility for its people. But in Kenya, the State is implicated in harming its own citizens," he said. Weighing in on the matter of abductions, Senior counsel Abdullahi pointed out that for any disappearance, or unlawful killing of innocent Kenyans by security organs, the ultimate responsibility lies with the Cabinet Secretary for Interior, in this case Kithure Kindiki. "No abduction, unlawful disappearance, or killing can happen in Kenya without him signing off," Ahmednasir stated on his X account. As the court sat waiting for the Acting IG yesterday, the National Police Service (NPS) confirmed his visits to operational areas in Mandera, Wajir, and Garissa counties, effectively snubbing Justice Lawrence Mugambi of the High Court. "The Acting IG is conducting a security assessment of the operational areas, including Wajir, Mandera, and Garissa counties, this week following recent probing attacks in security camps, the latest being yesterday's probing incident by suspected militia at Khorof Harar," NPS said in a statement. The missing men, Bob Njagi (47), Aslam Longton (42), and Jamil Longton (36), were abducted on August 19 at a Kitengela bus stop by individuals who identified themselves as police officers, according to boda boda riders operating in the area who witnessed the incident. Their brother, Razak Longton, said the family's search across multiple police stations has yielded no results, leaving them deeply distressed. "We are worried as a family because, since the abduction, we have been moving from one police station to another to enquire about the whereabouts of our kin, but we are yet to trace them," Razak said. Despite repeated High Court summons, Masengeli has not attended any hearings to address their whereabouts, leaving the victims' families in anguish.

Masengeli unfit to hold public office, lawyers say of defiant IG

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