Mlolongo 3: IG Kanja urges court to dismiss LSK case against him
The Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja on Friday, February 14, 2025, pleaded with the court to throw away a case filed by the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) and other petitioners on missing Mlolongo men.
Appearing before High Court judge Bahati Mwamuye through his lawyer Paul Nyamodi, Kanja stated that they honoured summons requiring them to appear in court.
“There is nothing left pending in the motion dated December 30, 2024, for this court to make consideration having acted fully as per your orders,” lawyer Nyamodi said in his submissions.
Nyamodi informed the court that his client insisted that the missing Mlolongo men were not held or detained in custody when he appeared in person.
He further argued that no more orders could be issued requiring IG Kanja to appear in court regarding the matter following his earlier admission that the missing persons were not in their custody.
“There is no room in the law for further orders that the applicants seek to be made,” lawyer Nyamodi insisted.
“My lord in respect to ex parte orders we reserve our rights,” Nyamodi added while making reference to the orders that were issued before the hearing of the matter.
Particulars on one missing person
Earlier, IG Kanja’s lawyer informed the court that they had not been furnished with information regarding the 8th petitioner Kelvin Muthoni.
Nyamodi lamented that his team had not received the particulars for the second time in asking about the said petitioner.
This comes after Judge Bahati Mwamuye adjourned the hearing of the matter on January 31, 2025, to allow lawyers of the 8th petitioner to serve respondents with details of his disappearance.
The judge was compelled to adjourn the matter after it emerged that some parties did not know about the disappearance of the 8th petitioner applicant or the Kibera matter.
Nyamodi said they could not proceed with the submissions without Kelvin Muthoni’s particulars on how he disappeared. Mwamuye thus directed lawyers representing Kelvin Muthoni to serve respondent lawyers with details on his disappearance by Wednesday, February 5, 2025.
“All petitioners and their counsels as well as interested parties to serve all parties any further affidavit or documentation of the 8th petitioner applicant by close of business on Wednesday, February 5, 2025,” Judge Mwamuye ordered.
Karua’s response
However, after Nyamodi stated they had not yet been served with the particulars, Senior counsel Martha Karua told the court that Kelvin’s whereabouts were still unknown.
She urged the court to separate Kelvin Muthoni from the 7 petitioners, as their particulars are already before the court.
Karua also requested the court to order the government to expedite the examination of DNA samples of bodies recovered at the City Mortuary to know whether the bodies belong to the petitioners before the court.
Nonetheless, Nyamodi told the court that DNA examination is a scientific process and the court cannot order the process to be done hurriedly.
