Produce cleric in a week, court orders prosecutor

The High Court has given Director of Public Prosecution Keriako Tobiko one week to give a report on the steps taken to find a Muslim cleric who was arrested and cannot be traced.

Lady Justice Ngenye Macharia told the prosecutor to be in court on May 14 to present the report that will detail on how Sheikh Khalif Abdullahi Madhobe was arrested and where he was being held.

She gave the order following an appeal by lawyer Gitobu Imanyara representing the family of the missing Islamic cleric to have the him presented in court.

Mr Imanyara said he was not comfortable with a request by the state for more time saying the matter was grave and touched on the life of an individual.

“I reluctantly accede to the one week request because the state should take responsibility for this matter and tell us where my client is.

“I am surprised at the nature of the submission by the state when it is their obligation to provide security to all Kenyans,” Mr Imanyara told the court.

The family of Sheikh Madhobe moved to court to compel the government to produce him dead or alive. Through lawyer Imanyara, the family claimed that since Mr Madhobe was arrested on April 27 in Garissa, they have looked for him everywhere including all police stations and mortuaries but have not found him.

“Sheikh Madhobe was abducted by police officers and has never been seen again. The government has failed to bring him to court or disclose his whereabouts hence the family wants a habeas corpus against the security forces,” said Imanyara.

A habeas corpus is a the production of a person — dead or alive.

Sheikh Madhobe’s son Abdi Khalif Abdullahi said in an affidavit; “My father was a religious teacher at an Islamic Religious Institution in Garissa until he was abducted by three armed plain clothes policemen.”