On Friday, the High Court in Nairobi provided former Acting Inspector General of Police Gilbert Masengeli with an opportunity for redemption following his six-month prison sentence. Justice Lawrence Mugambi, in his ruling, declared the suspension of Masengeli’s sentence, which was set to begin today. Furthermore, the judge allowed Masengeli to offer an apology and to clarify the reasons behind his failure to respond to summons on seven separate occasions.
“Mr Gilbert Masengeli can avoid the sentence if he complies with the direction to obey the court summons
“I therefore suspend the sentence for 7 days only. He can redeem himself by availing himself before the court in person,” Justice Mugambi stated.
Following the ruling, Justice Mugambi suspended the court proceedings for a duration of 30 minutes, after which Masengeli would be permitted to provide his remarks regarding the case.
Prior to the suspension, Masengeli had commenced his explanation, stating that one of his responsibilities was to safeguard the nation’s borders.
He was represented by Attorney General Dorcas Oduor and attorney Steve Ogolla.
The case, which has garnered significant public interest, was initiated by the Law Society of Kenya, which requested the court to mandate the Inspector General of Police to release the three individuals abducted in Kitengela.
Masengeli was sentenced to six months in prison for contempt of court due to his failure to comply with seven court orders related to the disappearance of three men.
Despite being given a seven-day grace period to appear in court and purge his contempt, Masengeli did not take advantage of this opportunity until just hours before the sentence was set to take effect.
In a last-ditch effort, Masengeli’s lawyer requested that he be allowed to present himself in court to apologize and explain the situation regarding the missing men.
However, the court denied this request, emphasizing that it could not disrupt its schedule to accommodate him. Consequently, his appeal against the sentence was also dismissed by the Court of Appeal.
Masengeli’s affidavit claimed he was unfairly targeted and that he had previously stated the victims were not in police custody.
