Kehancha police station OCS Mr Kispian Serem risks 6 months jail term after Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinnet sent signals to all police stations and border posts to help unravel the whereabouts of a man who disappeared in police custody last year, a Migori court was told on Friday.
Daniel Baru Nyamohanga was arrested by the Administration Police officers at Kehancha town and taken into custody at the Kehancha Police Station on January 12, 2017, where he was accused of robbery with violence.
Baru has not been seen since that day. This forced the family to petition court to have him produced in court. The Court held on May 31, 2018, that:
“An order of Habeas Corpus is hereby directed to the OCS Kehancha police Station to produce the person or the body of one Daniel Baru Nyamohanga before a court of law by close of business on Monday the 4th day of June 2018.
Serem failed to comply with the order and the judged held him in contempt of court. Peter Thuku, who was representing IG Joseph Boinet told the court that the IG was taking the matter seriously.
“The DCI is conducting investigations, he has recorded statements from the 4th respondent (OCS) and others. He has sent signals to border posts to establish whether he may have left the country. He has published the order of a missing person,” Thuku said.
Thuku said the IG had complied with the court orders and had sent his representative since the court summons was issued.
“The Immigration Department has been notified, various police stations have been sent signals to help trace the 1st petitioner. Time is needed to get the outcome of this investigations. The 1st petitioner could be in any part of this country, and IG would require the input of all bodies involved to work together closely to resolve the case,” Thuku told the court.
Justice Anthony Mrima ordered the contempt hearing to proceed despite spirited attempts by the Attorney General’s office to stop the proceedings. During his submission, the OCS said he has made efforts to comply with the habeas corpus, with his employer ordering fresh investigations to establish on the whereabouts of the petitioner who has been missing for more than one year.
What is habeas corpus? a writ requiring a person under arrest to be brought before a judge or into court, especially to secure the person's release unless lawful grounds are shown for their detention.
“The OCS was not properly represented in court, he wasn't represented by an officer from AG office. We are seeking for his right to fair representation,” his lawyer told the court.
But the judge said he had already established that Baru was in police custody when he disappeared.
“We have already settled the matter of custody; how long do you want to produce the petitioner in court? We cannot stop these proceedings now. The ruling has been made, this contempt case will proceed,” the judge said.
The court has set July 30, 2018, to rule on whether the OCS is in contempt of court or not. If found guilty he faces a six months jail term.
During the hearing of the case, Rebecca Boke Mwita, who is the wife of Daniel, testified in support of the Petition together with the father of Daniel, Nyamohanga Chacha. Rebecca told the court she was denied access to her husband. After several months, she was informed by the police officers that her husband is not at the station, but they could not say where he had gone to.
Justice Mrimi further said that the testimony given by the Kehancha OCS, claiming that the suspect was released from prison on January 16, 2018, after the robbery with violence charges leveled against him could not be proved, was not factual.
“It cannot be proved that the suspect was released as alleged by the police officer,” said the judge.
The judge also noted that a lot of information in the Occurrence Book had been altered presumably to exonerate the police officer on duty at the time of Baru’s disappearance.
The Judge noted that the testimonies given by the OCS and officers who were on duty when the suspect was brought to the police station and that of IPOA were conflicting.
The matter was fixed for mention on 5th June 2018 for further orders. On 5th June 2018, the OCS had not complied with the Habeas Corpus directive and was thereby charged with contempt of court.
The hearing was fixed for 27th June 2018 when it was further adjourned