After being arrested on Friday and spending the weekend in police custody, the four officers from the DCI Special Service Unit that was disbanded by the President a few days ago were arraigned at the Kahawa Law Courts of the alleged abduction and killing. They were among officers totaling to 21 attached to the Elite Squad within the DCI who were summoned for questioning by the Internal Affairs unit.
The DCI Special Service Unit (SSU) was disbanded by President William Ruto on claims that the unit undertakes extrajudicial killings, abductions and tortures which is unacceptable according to the President. He added that they were being used for political favours and gains by the previous government.
Dennis Itumbi, said in a Facebook post that Zulfiqar Ahmad Khan and his friend Mohamed Zaid Sami Kidwai were part of the Kenya Kwanza digital campaign team, and contributed immensely
to the success of Ruto’s campaign.
The Internal affairs unit lodged a request of detaining the four officers for 30 more days for further investigations to be carried out on the charges of kidnapping the two Indian IT experts, Mohammed Zaid Sami, Zulfiqar Ahmad Khan and their taxi driver Nicodemus Mwania. The two who were in the country to help Kenya Kwanza in their digital campaigns.
Issues arose over the powers that the IAU has in making such a request in court. The request was about detaining the officers for 30 days for the investigations.
“Their powers is just to look at internal affairs only, for example, maybe one police officer has taken a wife of another police officer.”
However, the request by the internal affairs unit of the DCI to seek to detain them for 30 more days for investigations has been met with opposition from the defense team and Independent Policing Oversight Authority IPOA who argue it’s not in their mandate to take the case to court and they want them to stop the investigations.
The senior chief magistrate Diana Mochache will make the determination of the matter tomorrow on 26 th as the officers will remain detained. She said that she has to analyse the decision because she cant decide instantly, she has to think.
“I have seen you’ve done quite a lot of submissions and you’ve given me authorities and I am not going to give the ruling on the spot. This ruling will have to come on Wednesday, unfortunately, to enable me come with a well-reasoned ruling.” Senior Chief Magistrate Diana
Mochache said.
By Calvin Angatia
