Toyota Probox

The Toyota Probox car which was found abandoned by the roadside.

| Charles Wanyoro | Nation Media Group

The case of three missing men and an abandoned car

When Mr Joseph Giteme left home last Thursday morning, his wife Purity Makena expected him back that evening, only for him to disappear into thin air. 

Mr Giteme was allegedly abducted alongside Mr Charles Kalung'e and Mr Bernard Miriti near Mulathankari, along the Meru-Mikinduri road, by people said to be police officers.

They were kidnapped shortly after Mr Giteme reported that he was being trailed by people in a white car who said they were police.

Ms Makena said her husband looked worried before he left home that day, and had reported threats on his life.

She said they got information that her husband had been abducted at around 2.30pm.

"We have not slept since this incident occurred. We are in fear as we don't know the intention of the abduction and whether they are dead or alive,” she said.

Lawyer’s attempted murder

Mr Giteme is a person of interest in the attempted murder of lawyer Kirimi Mbogo.

He has been embroiled in a case with the injured lawyer, leading to Mr Mbogo and three witnesses being placed under witness protection after expressing threats to their lives.

The families of the three have now petitioned the Directorate of Criminal Investigations boss George Kinoti to intervene and get to the bottom of the matter.

However, Igembe South police boss Henry Akong'o said he was unaware of the allegations that Mr Giteme had been trailed.

"The families have reported the matter here but it should fall under Imenti North since that is where it allegedly happened. The other issue of trailing was not reported at Kanuni," he said.

No report on abduction

His Imenti North counterpart Robinson Mboloi said no report on abduction had been made and that what they are pursuing is a case of missing persons.

"I am not aware of any arrest. What was reported was case of missing persons after the vehicle was found under the bridge. If anyone has details about abduction, they should report," he said.

Mr Giteme is charged with giving false information to a person employed in the public service contrary to section 129 (a) of the Penal Code.

Witnesses had developed cold feet after Mr Mbogo was shot and injured in the same week the matter was revived even though Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji had wanted it terminated in 2016.

They, however, agreed to testify after Justice Alfred Mabeya urged the trial magistrate to hear the matter in camera and use pseudonyms during the hearing of the evidence.

False information

Mr Giteme is accused of supplying false information to the police, claiming that Mr Mbogo was in Maua area when houses were burnt in the volatile Kianda, while the lawyer insists he was in Nyeri during the incident.

Mr Mbogo, who has since been granted police protection round the clock, had told a Maua court that he suspected that Mr Giteme may have had a hand in his shooting, but the court said no evidence had been adduced to that effect.

Speaking to journalists, the family led by Kanuni MCA Josephat Mugambi, protested that they had not received sufficient information from the police regarding the matter.

He claimed that the suspected abductors had trailed Mr Giteme up to the gate of his Athimba home and when he confronted the occupants, they told him they were from the disbanded flying squad unit.

Car abandoned

The MCA said the Toyota Probox car they were traveling in was found abandoned by the roadside, but their mobile phones had been switched off and they do not know of their whereabouts.

"The families are living in fear since we don't know the intention of the abductors. They had reported at Kanuni AP's camp that they were being trailed. If it is the police who are holding them, we need to know so that we know where they are and their condition. We are in fear since we have been reading about similar incidents in the media and need to know where they are, whether dead or alive," appealed Mr Mugambi.

He wants police to pursue all the leads and provide the affected families with security.

Mr Geoffrey Musyoka, Mr Kalung'e's brother, called for hastened investigations, saying every moment matters.