The High Court has issued a powerful directive to Kenya’s top security officials—Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja and Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) boss Mohammed Amin, to produce missing blogger and activist Ndiang’ui Kinyagia dead or alive.
Justice Chacha Mwita delivered the ruling on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, after both police chiefs failed to appear in court to explain the blogger’s whereabouts following his disappearance on Saturday, June 21.
Kinyagia, a software developer and outspoken online activist, had posted a “timetable” for the June 25 nationwide protests on his X account, prompting speculation that he had been abducted by state operatives in retaliation.
Eyewitnesses reported seeing 10 men in civilian clothing believed to be DCI officers arrive in three unmarked Subaru vehicles at Kinyagia’s home in Kinoo, Kiambu County, where they allegedly broke in and took him away. The incident, partially captured on CCTV, has since gone viral.
While issuing the directive, Justice Mwita expressed frustration with police noncompliance, stating:
I am not interested in your drama. Produce Ndiang’ui Kinyagia—dead or alive. There is no way a Kenyan can leave his house and vanish from this world without a trace. It is not humanly possible.”
Justice Mwita further ordered DCI boss Amin to personally appear before the court on Thursday, July 3, as part of an ongoing judicial probe into the blogger’s disappearance.
During a press briefing on Monday, June 30, Amin denied that Kinyagia was in DCI custody but acknowledged that officers had conducted a search at the activist’s home and confiscated electronic devices. He also labelled Kinyagia a “person of interest” over what he called “inflammatory online content” related to the protests.
Justice Mwita cited this search as sufficient grounds to demand further explanation:
Since DCI officers were in Kinyagia’s house before he disappeared, we need an explanation from DCI on where he is.”
The incident has sparked a wave of condemnation from civil society groups, with Amnesty International, the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), and other rights defenders calling for Kinyagia’s immediate and unconditional release.
LSK President Faith Odhiambo revealed that the Society was filing legal action to compel the government to explain Kinyagia’s disappearance and to ensure he is not being held incommunicado.
Meanwhile, concern continues to mount over the increasing number of enforced disappearances and the state’s growing crackdown on dissent especially as online activists and Gen Z-led movements become more vocal in pushing for reforms.
