Lawyer Martha Karua on Monday asked the High Court to order Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja and Director of Criminal Investigations Mohamed Amin to appear in person and explain the whereabouts of Tanzanian activist Twaha Mwaipaya, after police failed to produce him by the court's deadline.

Appearing for the human rights group Vocal Africa before Justice Alexander Muteti, Karua said sending two junior officers to court was not enough. "Kenyans are asking serious questions which can be answered by the DCI and the IG," she said, adding that the police were already in contempt of the order to produce him. "We don't have Mwaipaya here or his body."

Justice Muteti was expected to give directions on whether the two police chiefs will be summoned.

A 'dead or alive' order

On Friday, October 30, the judge certified Vocal Africa's habeas corpus application as urgent and directed the Inspector General, the DCI and the officer commanding Ruai Police Station to produce Mwaipaya in court on Monday at 11am, dead or alive, together with the original warrant authorising his detention, or explain why he should not be freed.

On Monday, State Counsel Christopher Marwa, appearing for the Attorney General, told the court that the State had complied with part of the orders, that investigations were ongoing and that he needed time to file the findings. He argued that the petitioners had abandoned the order requiring Mwaipaya to be produced.

Karua disputed this, saying that although the orders were formally served on Friday, police had known about the disappearance since the Sunday it was reported.

Seized in broad daylight

According to the petition, Mwaipaya, a Tanzanian opposition activist living in Kenya, was abducted at about 1pm on Sunday, October 25, at Kanisani stage in Kamulu on the outskirts of Nairobi. Vocal Africa chief executive Hussein Khalid said in a sworn statement that he was bundled into a black double-cabin pickup by armed men wearing balaclavas, using vehicles with fake or missing number plates.

A missing person report was filed at Ruai Police Station, but the family and lawyers say checks at several police stations have drawn a blank. "Neither his family members nor his advocates have been informed of the reasons for his arrest," Khalid said.

Fears of forced return

The rights group fears Mwaipaya could be tortured, held incommunicado or secretly handed over to Tanzania over his criticism of the government in Dar es Salaam. Karua told the court that the State wanted to return him to the country he had fled.

She said the courts had handled a string of similar abduction cases since December 2024, some ending with the missing person found alive and others with bodies recovered. The case has added to pressure on the National Police Service, which faces growing questions over cross-border abductions of East African critics on Kenyan soil.

Photos: Eastleigh Voice (courtesy); Citizen Digital (handout). Thumbnail design: HAMASTA MEDIA.