The family of security expert Mwenda Mbijiwe, who disappeared in 2021, has petitioned the High Court seeking orders compelling the government to produce him either dead or alive, or release him immediately.
The urgent application, filed at Milimani High Court by his mother, Jane Gatwiri M’Ithinji, requests that the Inspector General of Police, the Director of Criminal Investigations, and other relevant security agencies present her son without delay.
Gatwiri details in her affidavit that Mbijiwe went missing on June 12, 2021, near Roysambu in Nairobi while traveling to Meru County. She alleges that he was taken by men believed to be security personnel, who were not in uniform and drove an unmarked vehicle.
The family states that Mbijiwe had previously reported threats against his life. His final public appearance was on June 10, 2021, during a Muuga FM radio interview where he discussed matters concerning national security.
“The said detention is illegal, irregular, and unlawful and cannot be justified in a democratic society that believes in the rule of law and constitutionalism,” the family argues in court documents.
They contend that his ongoing disappearance violates his constitutional rights to liberty, health, and freedom of movement, and demand that the authorities disclose his location immediately.
The matter is set for mention before the High Court in Nairobi tomorrow ( Wednesday) for directions on how to proceed.
Mwenda Mbijiwe, a former Kenya Air Force officer and security consultant, vanished under unclear circumstances, with his car later recovered abandoned near Nyeri.
Seven months after he went missing, his brother, Nicholas Bundi, undertook a symbolic march from Meru County to the DCI headquarters in Nairobi to draw attention to the case and pressure security agencies to act.
The application has been certified as extremely urgent, with the family requesting that it be initially heard ex parte to ensure swift judicial intervention.