Ex-SSU officers to be charged afresh with disappearance of two Indians, Kenyan

Kahawa Law Courts Magistrate Njeri Thuku pegged her wisdom on a 1964 murder case in Neshoba County, Mississippi, that had gone cold for 27 years, to find that ex-Special Service Unit police offficers should be charged afresh with enforced disappearance.

Just as civil rights workers—James Chaney, Michael Schwerner, and Andrew Goodman who were killed by members of the Ku Klux Klan, Njeri said, the blood of Zulfiqar Ahmed Khan and Mohammed Zaid Sami, and their taxi driver, Nicodemus Mwania Mwange, is still out for a hunt and crying from the ground.

“The matter before this court has generated considerable public interest because of the journey it has taken to date. But the public interest also stems from the disappearances of people under past and present regimes. Let it be known to those involved that the prosecution may rest and the Defence may rest, but innocent blood never rests until it finds what it seeks,” she said, adding that in the Mississippi case, the mastermind, Edgar Ray Killen—a part-time Baptist preacher identified as an organiser of the plot—was finally nailed in 2005 and jailed for 60 years.

Killen, by the time he was being charged, was 80 years old after escaping justice for more than three decades following refusal by a single juror to convict him, and the State of Mississippi declining to prosecute him.

Njeri said that the two Indian and a Kenyan case was not unique to Kenya alone, as Rwandan genocide warlord Felicien Kabuga was on the run for 25 years, living as Antoine Taunga, which was his 29th fabricated name. Eventually, on May 16, 2020 Kabuga was arrested in a Asnières-sur-Seine Paris, a suburb in France at the age of 87 after a scar on his neck gave him away.

She was of the view that it was the blood of the innocent still seeking justice.

“In conclusion, innocent blood cries from the ground. Blood that refuses to hold its peace. Blood that is relentless in its pursuit and refuses to be forgotten. It refuses to be silent. It refuses to be buried. This case, in all its forms in the different hierarchies of court, is about innocent blood crying out,” she said.

The magistrate directed that the 15 officers should plead to the charges, but upon the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) withdrawing his appeal before the Court of Appeal, or prosecuting it to conclusion.

DPP moved back to Kahawa Law Court, accusing them of having a hand in the disappearance of the trio.

However, the officers, in their arguments before Njeri and at the High Court, argued that they cannot be charged twice over the same facts and issue.

Fredrick Thuku, Hillary Limo, David Kipsoi, Joseph Kamau, Paul Njogu, and James Kibosek have sued the DPP, the Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the Attorney General, arguing that following Justice Abigail Mshila’s orders for the DPP to drop the charges, to prosecute the murder charge, the window to charge them again immediately closed.

They also cited their colleagues Michael Muhuga, Michael Kiplagat and John Wanjiku as interested parties.

“It is trite law that the commencement or continuation of criminal proceedings for a collateral purpose or in circumstances amounting to an abuse of the criminal process would constitute an outright abuse of process, especially where applicants have been repeatedly subjected to criminal proceedings arising from the same circumstances,” the six officers argued.

They alleged that the new move is meant to keep them on an alleged harassment leash, as it is clear that the DPP failed to comply with Justice Mshila’s orders, which led to the initial abduction case being terminated.

“By subjecting the applicants to an endless cycle of arrests, repeated remands at Kiambu Prison, a failure to comply with multiple compliance deadlines issued by the High Court, and the tactical deployment of a Nolle Prosequi on August 18, 2026 only to resurrect identical abduction and kidnapping charges eight days later under Case No. MCCR E086 of 2026, the respondents have completely abdicated their statutory duty, choosing instead to engage in an oppressive, unmeritorious, and procedurally unfair prosecution,” they continued.

On the other hand, Principal Prosecution Counsel James Machira argued that the DPP was right to press the charges. He insisted there was no abuse of court process or discretion in charging. According to him, the officers were afraid of facing the law.

The DPP last week entered a nolle prosequi (a decision to terminate a case), leading to the collapse of the murder case.

 High Court Judge Francis Rayola allowed the DPP’s application to terminate the trial with a caveat that the discharge was not an acquittal or a bar to subsequent charges if fresh evidence emerges or a change of circumstances.

“I do find that the entry of the Nolle Prosequi herein was made within mandate, in good faith, and consistent with the public interest. To ensure clarity of the legal effect of this discontinuance, and to balance the independence of the DPP, the rights of the accused, the rights of the victims, and the wider interests of justice,” ruled Justice Rayola.

 The DPP had indicated that he would be proceeding with the earlier case of abduction and enforced disappearance at the Kahawa Law Court.

However, Justice Mshila had on May 30, 2025, ordered that the abduction case ought to be withdrawn within 21 days. On June 23, 2025, she reiterated the same orders, this time issuing a seven-day ultimatum.

Two days later, the case was mentioned before Kahawa Magistrate Gideon Kiage who asked that he be supplied with the High Court order.  He set a mention date on July 1, 2025, then July 24, 2025, as the same had not been brought before him.

On July 8, 2025, Justice Mshila this time reigned on the DPP by directing that if he did not withdraw the case within seven days, then the charges would stand terminated.

In the case, there are 13 SSU officers, one from NIS and a single KWS officer. They faced three counts of murder.

Those charged are Chief Inspector Peter Muthee Gachiku, Kibosek, Kamau, Simon Muhuga Gikenyo, Kipsoi, Stephen Luseno Matunda, John Mwangi Kamau, Paul Njogu Muriithi, Limo, and Joseph Mwenda Mbaya.

Others are Muhuga, Paul Njogu Muriithi, Boniface Otieno Mtulla, Elikana Njeru Mugendi, Fredrick Thuku Kamau, Wanjiku and Kiplangat.

They were accused of killing Mwania, Kidwai and Zaid near Ole Sereni Hotel along Mombasa Road on the night of July 22 and July 23, 2022.

The murder charges were an escalation of 13 charges pressed against the 15 before the Kahawa Magistrate’s court. This included abduction with intent to murder. In that case, it was alleged the nine officers serving in the defunct SSU intercepted a vehicle which Mwania was driving and bundled the three occupants into another vehicle.they allegedly held Kidwai, Khan and Mwania at Old Nairobi Area Police Headquarters SSU offices in Upper Hill before the trio disappeared.

Further, they allegedly held Kidwai, Khan and Mwania at Old Nairobi Area Police Headquarters SSU offices in Upper Hill before the trio disappeared.

According to the State, the officers jointly caused the disappearance of the three at the Aberdares National Park in Nyeri County.

They were also accused of subjecting the three to inhumane and degrading treatment.

Muthee faced a separate count of forgery. It was claimed he forged a vehicle work ticket serial number Q261311 for July last year.

The prosecution, led by Senior Assistant DPP Michael Sang and James Machira, however, told the court that the State had decided to release Francis Mwendo Ndonye unconditionally after investigations vindicated him.

During the hearing at Kahawa, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), in its opening statement, gave the court a chronology of events, noting the incidents were well-planned and executed with enormous resources utilized.

The ODPP detailed how the victims were allegedly trailed by officers from the defunct SSU, who allegedly located the victims using their mobile phones.

The ODPP argued that the team was facilitated by KWS personnel in disposing of the victims' bodies at Aberdare National Park in Nyeri County. The bodies have never been recovered and are suspected to have been eaten by wild animals.

The first witness officer, Kennedy Ndeto, who was part of the investigations team and works with the Internal Affairs Unit, told Kahawa Law Courts Principal Magistrate Gedion Kiage that the accused were placed at the scene of the crime.

Ndeto testified that data from the vehicles allegedly used by the officers showed that they entered Aberdares National Park through the treetops gate at 6:34 pm.

The investigating team tracked the same from the Old Nairobi area where the disbanded SSU offices were located and followed them to Aberdares."We established that the vehicles travelled up to the Aberdares forest," he claimed.

They are expected to appear before Kahawa Law Courts on Friday.