Two Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) and a former Special Services Unit (SSU) officer were Monday, June 5 arrested in connection with the alleged abduction of two Indian nationals and their taxi driver in July last year.
Inspector James Ole Tanki was summoned by the Internal Affairs Unit (IAU) detectives where he was arrested and later released on a cash bail from Capitol Hill police station.
All the suspects including four National Intelligence Service (NIS) officers are expected to be charged at the Kahawa Law Courts Tuesday with conspiracy to commit a felony and abduction with intent to confine.
Chief Inspector Peter Muthee will face additional charges of forgery and making a false document.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji directed the IAU director David Birech to charge the suspects.
The DPP however said the decision to charge the suspects with murder will only be made after the DNA analysis.
“In regards to the investigations touching on the proposed offense of murder, we note that the said report from Government Analyst on the DNA sample is not yet ready.”
“Therefore, the determination of the said proposed charge shall be made when the same is complete and analyzed.
Consequently, you are directed to arraign the said suspects to answer the aforesaid charges,” the DPP wrote to the IAU director
The officers are believed to be linked to the forceful disappearance of the missing Indians, Mohammed Said Sami and Zulfiqar Ahmed who are claimed to have traveled to Kenya during the electioneering period and were working with a digital media team allied to President William Ruto.
Some of the DCI’s SSU officers had earlier been arraigned and released on bond.
Detectives from the IAU had two months ago traveled to India to collect samples from the missing Indians’ relatives for comparison with the remains that were found at the Aberdares Forest.
“The family members had refused to travel to Kenya for fear of their lives. Arrangements were then made for the detectives to travel to India,” a senior police officer said.
Preliminary investigations revealed that two of the KWS officers were in communication, and even met with some of the SSU officers who are believed to have removed the three from Nairobi.
The IAU detectives have further said that during interrogations so far conducted, it was demonstrated to them by way of technology that they were at the scene of the crime, and at the Aberdares National Park where the three victims are believed to have been taken after their alleged abduction from Ole Sereni hotel area, Nairobi.
In early December 2022, the eight SSU officers who had been in custody for over a month were released on an Sh500,000 personal bond.
Then Kahawa Law Courts chief magistrate Diana Mochache directed the officers not to interfere with witnesses and to avail themselves to investigators whenever needed failure to which their bond terms would be canceled.
Mochache released Chief Inspector Muthee, John Kamau, Joseph Mbugua, Joseph Mbaya, David Kipsoi, Stephen Mutunda, Paul Muriithi, and Simon Gikonyo.
