High Court orders police to produce missing Busia businessman dead or alive within 48 hours

The High Court in Busia has ordered the Inspector General of Police, the Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the head of the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit to produce a businessman who disappeared at a police roadblock nearly ten months ago, dead or alive, within 48 hours. In a judgment delivered on November 13, 2026, Justice Samwel Mohochi found that the disappearance of Ahmed Ibrahim Ali Mohamed amounted to a flagrant and continuing violation of the Constitution, awarding him Sh5.84 million in damages against the state. Ahmed, an electronics trader, disappeared on the night of January 25, 2026, while travelling from Busia to Nairobi aboard a passenger bus. Court documents indicate that the bus was intercepted at a multi-agency security roadblock near Korinda Main Prison, where four individuals, two men and two women, boarded the vehicle and demanded identification documents from all 24 passengers. Ahmed was singled out, forced off the bus following a brief scuffle and bundled into a black Volkswagen with civilian registration plates. His luggage, a greenish bag reportedly containing USD130,000 intended for business transactions, was also taken. He has not been seen since. His uncle, Mohamed Garad Mohamed, reported him missing the following day after he failed to arrive in Nairobi. In his ruling, Justice Mohochi described the family’s experience as an instance of ‘ambiguous loss’, ruling that the uncertainty surrounding Ahmed’s fate had left his relatives in prolonged psychological distress, economic hardship and legal uncertainty over his assets. The petition was filed by Busia Senator and lawyer Okiya Omtatah Okoiti on Ahmed’s behalf. The court rejected the state’s argument that the abduction could have been carried out by ordinary criminals impersonating police officers, describing the government’s explanation as contradictory, evasive and constitutionally inadequate. Justice Mohochi pointed to the circumstances surrounding the disappearance, particularly the fact that the operation took place directly outside Korinda Main Prison, a heavily secured facility guarded around the clock by armed prison officers. The judge questioned how the alleged abductors could spend several minutes checking passengers’ identification documents, searching luggage and making telephone calls without attracting intervention from the prison wardens. He ruled that the presence of armed officers at the facility would ordinarily deter civilian criminals from conducting such an operation openly. The court also faulted investigators for failing to interview the bus driver, Peter Kimemia, and prison officers who were on duty that night. Further concerns emerged from a police investigation diary that appeared to refer to the interrogation of a passenger on January 9, 2026, more than two weeks before Ahmed’s disappearance. The judge said the discrepancy raised questions about the integrity of the investigation records and whether authorities had prior knowledge of the operation. The court also questioned a passenger manifest submitted by police, which listed all 24 passengers as ‘yet to check in’. Relying on international human rights jurisprudence, including the case of Velásquez Rodríguez v. Honduras, Justice Mohochi held that where a disappearance occurs within a state-controlled security environment, the government bears the responsibility of providing a comprehensive and credible explanation. He said that critical evidence, including deployment records, vehicle logs, intelligence reports and police Occurrence Book entries, remained within the exclusive control of state agencies, yet none had been produced to account for Ahmed’s disappearance. Beyond ordering the businessman’s production and awarding damages, the court issued several directives aimed at securing accountability. The Inspector General of Police and the DCI were ordered to issue a formal public apology, which must be broadcast on at least two radio stations in Busia County in Kiswahili and the local dialect. Police were also directed to surrender the complete investigation file, including CCTV footage from the Busia weighbridge, to the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) within seven days. IPOA was ordered to take over the investigations, record statements from the bus driver, booking clerk and prison wardens, and submit a report to the court within 45 days. The court further directed the government to initiate the process of ratifying and domesticating the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, which Kenya signed in 2007 but has yet to ratify. Justice Mohochi warned that any party that fails to comply with the orders risks contempt of court proceedings and a possible sentence of up to six months in civil jail. The judge held that Ahmed had been missing for 292 days, faulting investigators for failing to treat the prison as a primary source of evidence and potential eyewitness accounts. “The 3rd Respondent completely ignored the prison as a primary source of eyewitness evidence, despite the bus conductor testifying that the entire operation occurred right at the ‘Busia Main Prison main gate’,” ruled the court. Justice Mohochi said the court would not allow the state to evade accountability over the disappearance, emphasising that the Constitution does not permit citizens to disappear without explanation or be held in secret detention without acknowledgment. The court retained supervisory jurisdiction over the matter, with a compliance mention scheduled after the expiry of the 45-day period. Costs were also awarded to the petitioners. The post High Court orders police to produce missing Busia businessman dead or alive within 48 hours appeared first on Kahawatungu .

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