IG Denies Holding Missing PA as Eldoret Court Orders More Witness Statements
“We hold the police chief directly accountable for our kin’s whereabouts,” a family spokesperson told reporters outside the courthouse.
Bethuel Chesir, the missing personal assistant to Marakwet East MP Bowen Kangogo.
The mystery surrounding the disappearance of Bethuel Chesir, who vanished on August 7, 2025, deepened yesterday after Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja denied claims that he was being held in police custody.
In an affidavit filed before the High Court in Eldoret through his lawyer, Kwame Ramo, the police chief admitted that Chesir — a longtime personal assistant to an unnamed MP — was indeed arrested by eight armed officers on the day in question, but insisted he was not in their custody.
“The said person is not in police custody under my control or that of any officer attached to Kaptagat Police Station or any other police station,” Kanja told the court.
According to court documents, the officers, armed with G3 rifles, were travelling in two double-cabin vehicles when they allegedly intercepted Chesir’s car along the Eldoret–Ravine highway last week. Chesir was driving from Nairobi to Eldoret in the company of two friends, en route to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) where his ailing father is admitted, when the alleged abduction occurred.
Witness Accounts Sought
Duty Judge Peter Otieno directed Attorney General’s representative, Dorcas Oduor, through lawyer Kwame Ramo, to file further affidavits from two key witnesses — Dominic Kipkosgei Kipkiroe and Clare Jeruto Koech — who were with Chesir in his Toyota Premio (registration KDA 024K) during the incident.
Justice Otieno ordered that the new affidavits be served to lawyer Stephen Ombego, representing Chesir’s family, by Friday before noon, ahead of the next court mention on August 18.
Family Blames Police Chief
Chesir’s relatives maintain that the Inspector General bears personal responsibility for his disappearance.
“We hold the police chief directly accountable for our kin’s whereabouts,” a family spokesperson told reporters outside the courthouse. “The court should compel him to produce Chesir either alive or dead.”
The family had sought court orders compelling Kanja to appear in person and produce the missing man, claiming the arrest and subsequent disappearance point to a coordinated operation involving security agencies.
The case has sparked renewed public debate over alleged enforced disappearances in Kenya, with human rights groups warning that such incidents undermine public trust in law enforcement. The court will issue further directions on August 18.
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