By Collins Wanzallah
The family of Yusuf Hussein Ahmed, a Member of the Wajir County Assembly (MCA), has taken legal action to compel the police to produce him in court after his sudden disappearance last week. In an application filed by his cousin, Abdikadir Abdillahi, it is stated that Ahmed has been missing since the night of September 13, 2024, when he was forcibly taken from a taxi he had ordered in South B estate around 8 PM.
According to Abdikadir, four days have passed since the incident, and no one has accounted for Ahmed’s whereabouts. Yusuf, who serves as the MCA for Dela Ward in Wajir County, was reported missing in two occurrence books (OBs) filed at the Industrial Police Station.
In the court documents, Abdikadir expressed concerns that Ahmed may have been abducted by officers affiliated with the Inspector General of Police and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI). He alleged that these officers have refused to allow the family to visit Ahmed in custody or present him before a court to face any formal charges.
“The whereabouts of Yusuf Hussein Ahmed remain unknown, and we reasonably fear that he was taken by law enforcement officers. We’ve been denied the opportunity to see him, and no legal process has been initiated,” Abdikadir stated in the court filing.
The petition urges the court to intervene and compel the police to either produce Ahmed in court or reveal his location. Abdikadir added that without court intervention, the family will continue to endure the anxiety and emotional distress caused by Ahmed’s forced disappearance. He further emphasized that Ahmed is entitled to his right to habeas corpus, which protects individuals from unlawful detention, and that he should be granted a fair trial. “The law provides for due process, and it is wrong to subject him and his family to such trauma without any legal recourse,” Abdikadir said.
The petitioner argued that law enforcement officers are not above the law and must respect the Constitution. “It is illegal, unconstitutional, and unjust for the respondents to treat my cousin as a second-class citizen and subject him to inhuman and degrading treatment,” Abdikadir added in his statement.
On Tuesday, September 17, 2024, a press conference was held outside the Milimani Law Courts, where family members and county officials, including Wajir County Assembly Speaker Abdilleh Yusuf, joined by lawyer Danstan Omari, called for the immediate production of the missing MCA. The group condemned the continued detention of Ahmed, calling it a violation of human rights and an abuse of the legal process.
