IG Koome, Amin summoned in missing person's case

Court summons IG Koome, DCI Amin and officials in missing person's case. [Standard, File]

A Judge has summoned Police IG Japhet Koome and DCI boss Mohamed Amin to appear before him in a missing person case.

Justice Linus Kassan of the Isiolo High Court also summoned Attorney General Justin Muturi and a representative from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions Meru.

They have been summoned in a habeas corpus application after Issa Guyo was abducted alongside four other men by unknown people.

According to Guyo's lawyer Joseph Mokua, his client was abducted on Saturday, July 6, 2024, by heavily armed men believed to be police officers and bundled into a black Prado.

He says in his affidavit that Guyo and his four colleagues were then transported towards Nairobi with the last location of Guyo's phone being Karatina.

According to Mokua, Guyo's family has visited several police stations in Isiolo, Nairobi and Kiambu counties but have yet to find him.

"Given that the petitioner is unwell and on medication, the family is reasonably apprehensive that his continued detention may harm his frail health, besides, he has a 6-month pregnant wife who needs his utmost care and presence."

The reasons for the abduction of Guyo, 22, are not yet known or his whereabouts disclosed.

Mokua says that the abduction was well planned and executed since his client was in a hotel together with his friends and the two vehicles that took him had been strategically parked to avoid being captured on CCTV cameras.

He says that people who witnessed the abduction said that the eight abductors were heavily armed.

Another vehicle, a Subaru, had been parked further from the hotel to give security to the abductors.

Two of the abducted were freed in Timau and they said that the vehicles that had kidnapped them sped off towards Nairobi.

"The abduction of the petitioner poses a great danger to not only his inherent rights to fair trial, liberty, human dignity, but also to the rights of his wife, family and unborn baby."

Guyo's brother Kassim Osman with the help of a cop friend the last location of his sibling's phone signal was Karatina.

"Given the recent cases of abductions involving police officers, we are reasonably apprehensive that our brother has been abducted by the police and is likely to be harmed."

He says that Guyo is yet to be arraigned in court and his disappearance has occasioned intense emotional anguish for the family.

The case will be mentioned on Thursday, July 11, 2024.