4 police officers arrested over 2 missing Indians, driver in Kenya

By Andrew Wasike

NAIROBI, Kenya (AA) – Kenyan police on Saturday said they have arrested four colleagues over abductions and extrajudicial killings.

The four police officers from the disbanded Special Service Unit, which was part of the Directorate of Criminal Investigation, were suspected to be directly involved in the disappearance of two Indian nationals, Mohamed Zaid and Ahmad Khan, and their Kenyan driver, Nicodemus Mwania, on July 24.

The two Indians were in Kenya as part of an information and communications technology campaign team for then Deputy President William Ruto as he campaigned to win the country’s general elections on Aug. 9.

Speaking to local media, the suspects’ lawyer Danstan Omari said “police intend to charge the suspects with kidnap, abuse of office and conspiracy to commit a felony.”

Peter Muthee, head of the now defunct police unit, is among those detained after all the officers were called for interrogation by a team from Kenya’s national police service on Friday.

The police officers were detained in the capital Nairobi and will be arraigned in court on Monday.

William Ruto, Kenya’s current president, has accused the disbanded police unit of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances.

Human rights groups in Kenya lauded Ruto’s leadership for disbanding the police unit last week, calling for speedy probes into its heinous acts.

The rights groups described the president's decision as a strong first move in expressing the political will that has been lacking in Kenya for decades, calling it a strong foundational step for a new beginning.

The Special Service Unit is accused of extortion, kidnappings, torture, extrajudicial executions, and enforced disappearances.