PS Omollo calls for accountability from parties in missing persons cases

Speaking during an interview on NTV's Fixing the Nation on Tuesday, November 10, Omollo defended the security agencies' handling of missing persons reports, saying police had a responsibility to account for individuals reported missing and provide information on the progress of investigations.

"I think that is what a responsible security apparatus does, and to my knowledge, I think that is what we have had in this country," Omollo said.

He said police should establish when and where a missing person was last seen, clarify whether they were in police custody and provide updates on efforts to trace them.

"If that person is in police custody, the police must be able to tell us as much. If the person is not in police custody, it is also proper that the police must equally say as much," he said.

Omollo added that police were not necessarily expected to immediately locate a missing person but should communicate what they knew and the steps being taken to find them.

He cited instances where the Inspector General of Police or the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) had appeared in court to provide information on missing persons cases, saying the security agencies had been able to account for their investigations.

The PS was responding to questions about people who had disappeared, including a security expert whose disappearance remains the subject of court proceedings and lawyer Abdi, whose whereabouts remain unknown.

When asked whether the government was concerned that security agencies had not identified those responsible for picking people off the streets or explained whether a parallel system existed outside the established security apparatus, Omollo dismissed the suggestion.

"Not at all," he said when asked whether there was a parallel system operating beyond the security agencies.

He maintained that the central issue should be whether the security agencies were providing adequate accountability and whether they could account for what had happened to individuals reported missing.

Omollo also pointed to the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), saying the constitutional body had a mandate to independently investigate police conduct and provide accountability to Kenyans.

He said officers found culpable had been processed through the criminal justice system, adding that investigations into missing persons should not be viewed solely through the actions of the police.

The PS further questioned the circumstances surrounding some disappearance reports, citing cases in which individuals later resurfaced after being reported missing.

He said there had been instances where people who were reported abducted later emerged, with some claiming they had taken a break or hidden themselves for personal reasons.

Omollo also alleged that police had encountered cases of self-abduction, where officers were forced to obtain court orders to access certain premises in pursuit of missing individuals.

He argued that while the public had a right to demand accountability from the police, other institutions and individuals involved in the justice system also had a responsibility to account for their actions.

"As a country, we have a responsibility to ask questions, and we have a responsibility to be concerned," he said.

He called for what he described as a 360-degree approach to accountability, involving the police, the judiciary, the media and other actors in the criminal justice system.

"It is critical that action has to be taken, whether it's police, whether it's individuals who are purportedly abducting themselves or whether it's those who create a false alarm," he added.

Asked whether he was personally bothered by the continued reports of Kenyans being picked up from the streets while investigations remained incomplete, Omollo said he would not look at the matter in those terms.

His remarks come amid continued public concern over reported abductions and enforced disappearances, with families of missing persons and human rights advocates demanding answers on the whereabouts of those who remain unaccounted for.