IG Kanja Responds After Snubbing 3 Court Summonses
Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja promised the media on Tuesday, January 21, that he will appear in court when he is ready.
His guarantee came days after he failed to appear in court on three separate occasions, sparking indignation over prominent public officials’ lack of respect for the judiciary.
“When the time comes for me to appear in court I will appear. When I am ready I will appear before the courts,” Kanja told reporters who pinned him down during a press conference in Kwale County.
The police chief and Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Director Mohammed Amin had rejected court summonses three times, in what many saw as a flagrant contempt for the rule of law.
IG of Police Kanja says probe into abduction cases at advanced level, assures Kenyans he will obey court summons pic.twitter.com/3gsbIbUYD8
— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) January 21, 2025
In the most recent summons, Justice Chacha Mwita ordered Kanja to appear in court on Monday, January 13, to answer questions about the whereabouts of four people abducted in Kitengela.
The four Kenyans are: Stephen Mbisi Kavingu, Martin Nyukwa Mwau, Kalani Mwema, and Justice Mutumwa.
They had been gone for about a month, having been kidnapped between December 16 and December 17 last year at several sites on the outskirts of Nairobi.
The court ruling followed an earlier suit filed by the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), which sought orders ordering Kanja and Amin to deliver the missing Mlolongo Four.
Prior to this, Kanja ignored a summons issued by Justice Bahati Mwamuye to answer questions about the abduction of seven people in a case filed by the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), among others.
In his verdict, Justice Mwamuye ordered the two to the next hearing on January 27, warning that failing to appear would result in their instant punishment and jail.
Kanja and Amin initially ignored a court summons after Lady Justice Diana Kavedza ordered them to surrender six Kenyans who were kidnapped in December 2024.
The orders specified that the victims be brought before the court on December 31, 2024, however, this did not occur.
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On the other side, Kanja indicated that the investigation into missing person cases had progressed and that the police will soon announce their findings.
“I have given directives to the DCI team that investigations into missing persons be done with the highest professional standards and be completed conclusively,” Kanja averred.
“Any criminal who is associated with those matters (abductions) will be arrested, taken to court, and charged according to the Kenyan law,” he added.
Kanja went on to reinforce the police service’s commitment to get to the bottom of the kidnapping problem that plagued the country.
IG Kanja Responds After Snubbing 3 Court Summonses
