Families fearing the worst as rights activist, friends go missing
Michael Njau, a human rights defender, his cousin and friend disappeared on April 24, 2020. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
Samuel, Michael’s cousin, had been waiting for them and on arrival, the trio is believed to have spent time together before Samuel offered to drop them in Nairobi.
That was on April 24 and to date, the trio’s whereabouts is unknown, with their families making desperate ‘missing person’ appeals on social media.
The three disappeared between Githurai and Kasarani, and police in Nairobi have been trying to trace them.
Exactly a week ago, Michael Njau a human rights defender and his friend Adan Saibu left Nairobi for Thika to visit, Samuel Njau, a taxi driver in the town.
Samuel, Michael’s cousin, had been waiting for them and on arrival, the trio is believed to have spent time together before Samuel offered to drop them in Nairobi.
That was on April 24 and to date, the trio’s whereabouts is unknown, with their families making desperate ‘missing person’ appeals on social media.
The three disappeared between Githurai and Kasarani, and police in Nairobi have been trying to trace them.
The Toyota Ractis car - KCX 843M - that the three are believed to have been using was found abandoned at the Githurai roundabout stage two days later, after the owner failed to reach the driver on phone and traced it using a tracker.
Kiamaiko Community Justice Centre said that Michael’s phone was last traced to the Ruiru bypass at around 4pm.
“Residents of Githurai alleged that someone parked the car on Friday (the same day the three reportedly disappeared) at around at around 6pm and never returned,” the justice centre which is also Michael’s employer said.
A colleague at the centre told the Nation that they feared that Mr Njau may have been killed since he had been on the frontline fighting extrajudicial execution.
“He has really been campaigning against police killings and truth be told, he has received several threats. Not just him but most of us here. We handle sensitive cases touching on the most lethal police officers here. We just hope he is safe,” the colleague said.
His brother Ndungú Njau said he was hopeful that they would be found safe and that they would be reunited with their families.
Swazuri Ali, Adan Saibu’s brother also made an appeal to Kenyans to report any information concerning his whereabouts to the police. Their disappearance was reported at the Thika Police station under OB number 34 /25/4/2020.
Amnesty International, the Police Reforms Working Group and several human rights groups have asked the police to expedite investigations into their whereabouts. The latter is set to issue a statement on their disappearance today.
The disappearance of Mr Njau and his cousin and friend brings memory of last year’s disappearance of Caroline Mwatha, who worked as a human rights defender at the Dandora Justice Centre.
Ms Mwatha was later found dead, with her body being kept at the City Mortuary. Although investigators said that she died from a botched abortion, her family still maintains that she was murdered.
During the one year anniversary of her death, her father- Stanislaus Mbai alleged that she was lured to her killers by two friends.
The abduction and murder of human rights lawyer Willie Kimani in 2016 is also still fresh in Kenyans minds. ‘
Mr Kimani, who worked at the International Justice Mission; Josphat Mwendwa, one of Mr. Kimani’s client; and their taxi drive, were found dead on the bank of Oldonyo Sabuk River.
The three men went missing on June 23, 2016 after a court appointment at Makovo Law Court and were later reported to have been abducted by administration police officers.
The trial of three police officers suspected to have been behind the chilling murder is ongoing in court.
