Mbijiwe’s mother, Jane Gatwiri M’Ithinji, filed an urgent petition demanding that the state be compelled to either produce her son alive or reveal what happened to him.
According to court documents, Mbijiwe was last seen on June 12, 2021, near Roysambu in Nairobi.
Witnesses claimed he was intercepted by men believed to be plainclothes police officers driving unmarked vehicles.
Since then, his family has searched across police stations, hospitals, prisons, and mortuaries with no success.
Outside the Milimani Law Courts, an emotional Gatwiri broke down as she addressed reporters. She insisted her son is alive despite the years of silence.
“It is painful for a mother to spend four years without seeing her child. Mwenda was my firstborn and the pillar of our family. I still believe he is alive, and I pray the judge orders the government to release him,” she said.
The petition lists the Attorney-General, Inspector-General of Police, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, and the National Police Service as respondents.
Lawyer Evans Ondieki, representing the family, accused the state of violating constitutional rights. He argued that if Mbijiwe had committed any crime, due process should have been followed instead of detaining him in secrecy.
“Keeping a Kenyan citizen in custody for years without trial is the highest form of impunity. The rule of law must be respected,” he told the court.
Court filings also revealed that Mbijiwe had earlier reported death threats to police before his disappearance.
He once trained in Israel, served in the Kenya Defence Forces Air Force, and had shown interest in contesting for the Meru gubernatorial seat in 2022.
