Rwanda Was Not Involved in This Kenya Court Ruling on Enforced Disappearances

The High Court of Kenya has directed the Interior Cabinet Secretary and Attorney-General to initiate ratification of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. This move aims to strengthen legal protections against abductions and state accountability for missing persons. The court also ordered the submission of the treaty to the Cabinet for approval within 90 days.

The judgment, delivered by Justice Samuel Muhochi, comes amid rising concerns over abductions and enforced disappearances allegedly involving state security agencies in Kenya. According to the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, 15 abductions were documented between December 2024 and December 2025. The Missing Voices coalition recorded 55 enforced disappearances in 2024, increasing from 10 in 2023.

The court order stems from a petition filed by Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah and Mohamed Garad Mohamed, uncle of missing businessman Ahmed Ibrahim Ali Mohamed. Ahmed disappeared on January 25, 2026, while traveling to Nairobi. The petitioners claim that Ahmed was singled out and removed from a bus by persons believed to be state security officers.

The court found the state's account of Ahmed's disappearance inadequate and questioned the claim that he was abducted by ordinary criminals impersonating police officers. The investigation diary referred to an abduction on January 9, although Ahmed disappeared on January 25. The judge called the failure to interview the bus driver "inexplicable."

The court declared the arrest, secret detention, and continuing disappearance of Ahmed unlawful, finding violations of constitutional rights. A habeas corpus order was issued, requiring the Inspector-General of Police, DCI director, and Anti-Terrorism Police Unit commander to produce Ahmed, dead or alive, within 48 hours.

The court also ordered the Inspector-General of Police, National Police Service, DCI director, ATPU commander, and NTSA director-general to surrender the original investigation records and other evidence to IPOA within seven days. The court awarded Ahmed Sh5.8 million in damages, payable by the Inspector-General of Police, National Police Service, DCI, ATPU, NIS, Interior Cabinet Secretary, and Attorney-General jointly.

The court retained supervision of the judgment's implementation and warned that disobedience could amount to contempt. The government has been ordered to provide a legislative timetable for enacting a law specifically criminalizing and punishing enforced disappearances.

Key points

• The Kenyan High Court has given the government 90 days to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.
• The court declared the arrest and disappearance of businessman Ahmed Ibrahim Ali Mohamed unlawful.
• The government must enact a law to criminalize enforced disappearances and provide a legislative timetable.