Police IG Kanja At Risk Of Being Jailed After Skipping Court Summons

Inspector General of Police, Douglas Kanja could be slapped with a jail term should he fail to attend the next hearing, High Court Judge Bahati Mwamuye has sternly warned.

Kanja on Tuesday, January 8 failed to adhere to a summons issued by Justice Mwamuye over allegations linking him to the recent abductions. The judge ordered the police chief to appear before the court to explain how the mysterious abductions occurred without police intervention.

The judge warned that IG Kanja's failure to adhere to the orders would automatically attract penal sanctions including contempt of court. 

"Ordinarily when I issue my orders, and they are not complied with there are only three things I do. The first is that I find you in contempt, dispense with mitigation, and go straight to sentencing if it is clear in the face. The other route that I follow is I find you in contempt, I invite you for mitigation and sentencing,g and the third where it is not clear cut I invite you for notice to show cause," the judge said.

Police IG Douglas Kanja at his office. /FILE

Justice Mwamuye then warned that if Kanja fails to appear in court during the third hearing on the matter, he will have no option but to charge him and convict him at the same time.

"If Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja misses the next hearing, I will have no choice but to charge him with contempt of court and sentence him on the spot," the judge added.

Both Kanja and the Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Mohamed Amin failed to appear before the court on Wednesday, January 8, to respond to questions regarding the abduction of seven people in a case filed by the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), among others.

In Amin's case, the judge extraordinarily ruled that should the DCI boss not appear, he would be convicted on the spot. He will, however, be invited for a mitigation and sentencing hearing. 

The ruling, according to the judge, is out of character, as ordinarily, he would have ruled on IG Kanja’s absence from the second hearing. However, he chose to extend the grace period to the two in the interest of locating the one abductee who remains at large. Kanja and Amin have since been instructed to appear in court on Monday, January 27

The summons follow last month’s order from Judge Diana Kavedza asking Kanja and Amin to bring to court six people who were kidnapped in December, until the end of 2024. The orders were that the abductees be produced in court on December 31, 2024, but this did not happen.

As such, Justice Mwamuye directed that the duo attend court in person today to show cause why they should not be cited for contempt for failing to comply with the orders. The two failed to appear, with Kanja’s counsel requesting the court to grant them 14 days to provide answers.

Kanja informed the court that he was attending to matters of national security. Earlier today, the judge ordered the police chief to appear before the court to explain how the mysterious abductions occurred without police intervention.

The court also directed the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) to provide details of vehicles allegedly used in the abductions. NTSA Director General George Njao was instructed to submit this information before the next court session.

“State officers have an obligation, according to the oath of office and the constitution. This court will not hesitate next week if these people are not brought before the court,” the judge said.

“If the six gentlemen are found, I am on duty every day; nothing prevents the respondents from producing them to this High Court or any other High Court in the country."