NAIROBI, 31 January 2025: The Law Society of Kenya and the Police Reforms Working Group are horrified by the discovery of the bodies
of Justus Mtumwa and Martin Mwau, two of the four missing Mlolongo abductees. We send our deepest condolences to their families and friends. We join them in demanding an independent post-mortem to determine the cause of death.
We call upon the Independent Policing Oversight Authority to thoroughly investigate their abduction and killing and bring perpetrators to justice. We urge the Directorate of Criminal Investigations as instructed by the court to urgently, effectively, impartially, and transparently investigate the abductions of Steven Mbisi and Kalani Mwema and ensure their safe return to their families.
We demand that the National Police Service now establish a missing persons database to ensure efficiency, seamless interagency communication, and quick communication with victim families to resolve missing persons cases.
We remain concerned by admissions under oath by the Inspector General of Police and the Director of Criminal Investigations on 30 January 2025, that they did not have any knowledge of where Justus Mtumwa and Martin Mwau were despite the two men’s bodies were delivered to the Nairobi Funeral Home by officers from Ruai Police Station. We call on those who continue to threaten and harass some of the former abductees to stop.
We remind the authorities that the gravity of these issues had prompted 20,000 Kenyans to sign a petition calling for a commission of enquiry in July 2024. The time has come for this initiative to be put in place now.
Kenya continues to experience an unprecedented number of abductions and killings with no satisfactory answers from government agencies mandated to protect the safety of all Kenyans. Since June 2024, Kenya National Commission on Human Rights has recorded over 63 cases of extrajudicial killings, 89 enforced disappearances with 29 people still missing. The police have made no progress in holding those responsible for these human rights violations to date.
Notes:
https://x.com/HakiKNCHR/status/1873824527857463439
https://www.amnesty.org/en/petition/stop-the-crackdown-on-people-in-kenya/
This statement is signed by the Law Society of Kenya and the Police Reforms Working Group, an alliance of national and grassroots organizations committed to professional, accountable, and human rights-compliant policing. They include: Independent Medico-Legal Unit (IMLU), Kariobangi Paralegal Network, Defenders Coalition, Social Justice Centres Working Group (SJCW), Kenyan Section of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ Kenya), International Justice Mission (IJM-K), HAKI Africa, Amnesty International Kenya, Women Empowerment Link, Social Welfare Development Program (SOWED), Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA- Kenya), International Centre for Transitional Justice (ICTJ – Kenya), Transparency International Kenya, Shield For justice, Wangu Kanja Foundation, Constitution and Reform Education Consortium (CRECO), Kenyans for Peace, Truth and Justice (KPTJ) and Peace Brigades International Kenya (PBI Kenya).