The judge revealed that the IG has not purged the contempt and that failure to appear in court will result in his punishment.
The High Court has dismissed an explanation by Acting Inspector General of Police Gilbert Masengeli for failing to honour court summons to answer for the disappearance of two siblings and an activist in Kitengela Town, two weeks ago.
The court on Thursday, September 4 sounded a warning to Masengeli for skipping the summons, with Justice Lawrence Mugambi ordering Masengeli to appear before the court at 3:00 p.m. or else face consequences.
The judge revealed that the IG has not purged the contempt and that failure to appear in court will result in his punishment.
“If the court does not see the IG at 3 pm, it will have no choice but to proceed to make the filing of direct contempt of court for the disobedience of orders and proceed to declare or pronounce the consequences,” Mugambi stated.
The Milimani Law Courts in Nairobi. /FILE
However, the acting police boss is attending the Mombasa International Show, and the state counsel has requested that he be excused.
Justice Mugambi however denounced the excuse, arguing that the court did not see why he was giving priority to the event over the court order, which was mandatory for him to honour.
He further argued that the explanation by a representative of the Attorney General that the IG was attending the Mombasa event was not good enough.
“The court does not see why the IG did not prioritise the court order over the workshop noting that the court order is not optional and the IG has to obey the same. I leave it to the IG to consider if he is to obey the court order today and present himself by 3 p.m.,” the judge remarked.
Masengeli was to appear in court on Tuesday but missed the summons, and was represented but his legal officer who told the court that Masengeli was out of office on official duties.
This argument was however dismissed by Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President Faith Odhiambo who insisted that the IG was in contempt of court and that an arrest warrant should be issued.
Masengeli was compelled to explain the whereabouts of the three, Bob Micheni, Jamil Longton and Aslam Longton, who were said to have been abducted in broad daylight.
Court documents previously indicated that the trio mobilised the youth through their social media accounts during the widespread anti-Finance Bill protests.
Instructively, the High Court had on August 23, 2024, issued a directive to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the National Police Service (NPS) to immediately reveal the victims’ whereabouts.
In his ruling, the judge directed the top police bosses to do as ordered and produce the missing individuals by August 26, 2024.
