Police IG Kanja sued for contempt of court for deploying plainclothed officers
The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) on Friday filed a petition against the Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja citing contempt of court
The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) on Friday filed a petition against the Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja citing contempt of court.
In its petition, LSK accused the police boss of allegedly deploying masked and hooded officers to disrupt a peaceful procession by a section of Kenyans who were going to present their grievances to the Office of the President on September 24.
According to the independent Institution, Kanja’s action contravened a court order issued in August that police officers should display their service numbers and always remain identifiable at all times when dealing with persons exercising their rights under Article 37.
LSK further claimed that the court ordered the police IG to ensure that where plainclothes police are deployed, they should not in any way hide or obscure their face to render them difficult to identify or unidentifiable.
“The respondents have since violated these orders and continued to deploy unidentifiable, masked police officers and uniformed police officers with hidden concealed service numbers in disregard of the pronouncement of this Honourable Court specifically,” LSK noted.
LSK in its petition cited the police IG of gross violation of Articles 10, 73, 159 and 244 of the Constitution for disobeying the court’s order of 14th August 2024.
The petitioners called on the court to convict the police boss for the offence of contempt of court. They also want him sentenced to six months imprisonment per the law.
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“That the above sentence be and is hereby suspended if, within 14 days of the order, the police IG gives a written undertaking to comply with the order and guarantee a non-repetition of their disobedience of the court’s order of August 14 2024,” stated the Law Society.
“That the orders sought ought to be granted to protect and preserve the dignity and process of this Honourable Court and further, it would be in the interest of justice and fairness if the said orders are granted.”
The move comes a day after a High Court in Nairobi summoned Douglas Kanja over the disappearance of Wajir Member of the County Assembly Yussuf Ahmed.
In its directive, the court ordered the police boss, alongside the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Renson Ingonga, to produce the MCA or appear before it on September 27 to explain the lawmaker’s whereabouts.
This is after LSK filed a suit against the IG, seeking the court’s help to compel the police boss to avail Yussuf Ahmed who was reportedly abducted on September 13.
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