Today, a Nairobi court deferred the taking of plea by former 13 members of the Special Service Unit (SSU) and two other officers from GSU and KWS accused of involvement in the 2022 abduction and subsequent disappearance of two Indian nationals and their Kenyan taxi driver.
In a strongly worded ruling, Magistrate Angela Njeri Thuku invoked the biblical imagery of innocent blood crying out from the ground, saying the case had continued to attract public interest because of the circumstances surrounding the disappearances and the long legal journey that has followed. “Innocent blood cries from the ground. Blood that refuses to hold its peace,” the magistrate said. “It refuses to be forgotten. It refuses to be silent. It refuses to be buried.”
The magistrate said the case, through its various stages in the different levels of the court system, represented a search for justice over what she described as innocent blood crying out. The remarks came as the court considered whether the former SSU officers and their colleagues should proceed to face fresh charges relating to the alleged abductions.
The court directed the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) to move with speed in pursuing appeals pending before the superior courts, which challenge the fresh charges against the former officers. The plea-taking proceedings will therefore await an update on the status of the proceedings before the Court of Appeal.
The matter will again be mentioned on October 21, 2026, when the court is expected to receive an update and give further directions. The magistrate’s comments placed the case within a broader historical context in which investigations and prosecutions over alleged killings or disappearances have continued years, and sometimes decades, after the events in question.
The case has generated considerable public attention because of the disappearance of the three men and questions surrounding the conduct of officers from a security unit that was subsequently disbanded. The two Indian nationals and their Kenyan taxi driver disappeared in 2022, triggering investigations and renewed scrutiny of the conduct of members of the security services.
The proceedings have since passed through different stages of the judicial system, with questions over whether the officers can face fresh charges forming part of the continuing litigation.
In her concluding remarks, Magistrate Thuku emphasised that the passage of time should not bring the search for justice to an end. “Let it be known to those involved that the prosecution may rest. The defence may rest, but innocent blood never rests until it finds what it seeks,” she said.
The court directed the prosecution to put its house in order regarding the stay proceedings before the Court of Appeal and to provide an update on the status of the matter at the next mention. The summons against the 15 persons remain in force.
The case will return to court on October 21 for an update and further directions. For now, the question of whether the former SSU officers will formally take pleas to the fresh charges remains unresolved.
