Missing protester Muteti Mulinge found alive and injured in Lukenya

An activist named Boniface Mulinge Muteti has filed a lawsuit in the Milimani Law Courts in an attempt to force the police to reveal his whereabouts. Muteti is believed to have gone missing after his alleged arrest during a protest on September 21, 2026 in Nairobi. The petitioner, Francis Awino, seeks the court's intervention to determine where Muteti is being held and, if he is in custody, to force the authorities to bring him before the court.

Awino filed the application under provisions protecting personal liberty and the right to habeas corpus, asking the court to urgently investigate Muteti's whereabouts and the legal justification for his detention. Muteti's phone went silent after his alleged arrest, and efforts to reach him have been unsuccessful. A written notice regarding the planned demonstration was delivered to the Kenya Police Service on September 16, and a charge sheet dated September 22 lists other activists arrested during the events.

However, Muteti's name does not appear on the charge sheet. A report on his disappearance was filed with the police on September 23. The petition named the Police Inspector General, Douglas Kanja, and Director of Criminal Investigations, Mohammed Amin, as respondents, requesting them to appear before the court with any warrant, detention order or other documents supporting Muteti's arrest or continued detention.

Awino argues that the application is not meant to impede any lawful investigation or prosecution, but rather to determine if Muteti is in police custody and the legal basis for his detention. The court is asked to certify the matter as urgent and to direct Muteti's production before the court within 24 hours of service or a shorter period as directed by the court.