Missing lawyer found in Marsabit but police chiefs still face questions

Lawyer Abshir Ahmedsadak Abdi was allegedly bundled into a vehicle by armed men in Nairobi on November 1, 2026. [Nancy Gitonga, Standard] 

Police bosses and security officials still have questions to answer on the abduction of lawyer Abshir Ahmedsadak Abdi despite the lawyer and another abductee having been found dumped in Sololo, Marsabit County.

The dramatic development was communicated to the High Court on Thursday afternoon after a lawyer representing the Association of Muslim Lawyers, Salim Omar, informed Justice Alexander Muteti that he had received a text message from Abshir's father confirming that his son had been found.

"My Lord, we have learned that the subject of these abduction proceedings has been found dumped somewhere in Sololo, Moyale Sub-County, Marsabit. We have received the message from the father," Omar told the court.

According to the information relayed to the court, Abshir and his co-abductee, Ayub Mohamud Maalim was allegedly dumped in Sololo on Wednesday night and had been walking towards Moyale town

The court was further informed that the missing lawyer had contacted his family shortly after 1pm on Thursday to inform them of his whereabouts.

However, he was yet to report to a police station to record a statement, leaving questions about the circumstances surrounding his alleged abduction and subsequent discovery.

Justice Muteti, however, maintained that the court would continue pursuing answers until the circumstances surrounding the lawyer's disappearance were established.

Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President Charles Kanjama, who had also received information about the development, urged the court to allow Abshir to personally appear and explain what had happened to him.

"I have also been shown a text message that he has been found. If the subject has been received and comes to court, he can address the court and we can take up that tomorrow," Kanjama said.

"Whether the lawyer has been dumped or not, we are proceeding tomorrow morning at 9am until we get to the bottom of the matter."

Speaking to journalists outside the court, Kanjama said the family was expected to provide confirmation of Abshir's discovery, urging him to report to a police station if he had indeed been released.

"The information will come from the family that indeed he has been found. Indeed, if it's true that someone has been released after being abducted, he must report to a police station so that a statement is recorded and a report made. We keep our fingers crossed and our hopes high that lawyer Abshir has been found safe and sound," Kanjama said.

Law Society of Kenya President Charles Kanjama and other lawyers protest over missing lawyer Abshir Ahmedsadak outside Vigilance House in Nairobi on November 11, 2026. [Boniface Okendo, Standard]

The LSK president said the legal profession remained concerned about the alleged emergence of special security units operating outside the constitutional framework.

Kanjama also questioned the terminology used to describe the alleged abduction squads, citing references to a Special Operations Group (SOG) in Abshir's case and an Operations Support Unit (OSU) within the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), which was linked to the alleged abduction of Standard Group editor Alex Kiprotich two months ago.

Kanjama vowed that lawyers would continue pressing for accountability, including against individuals who allegedly provide resources and instructions to those involved in abductions.

He also insisted that the society would sustain demonstrations until Abshir and his alleged co-abductee Ayub were safe and presented before court.

The development came as Abshir's brother, Zakaria Abshir, continued his testimony before the High Court for the second day, playing three video recordings showing armed men allegedly pursuing and abducting the lawyer in the early hours of November 1 and the first abduction on the night of October 25, 2025.

Testifying before Justice Muteti, Zakaria presented footage showing four armed men, some carrying rifles, allegedly pursuing his brother before catching up with him and bundling him into a waiting vehicle.

According to the chilling three minutes of footage on the events of November 1, the men were dressed in grey tactical clothing, with some wearing hoods and balaclavas covering their faces.

Zakaria said the footage showed a coordinated operation involving several vehicles, including a black Toyota Prado TX and a black double-cabin vehicle.

He told the court that the Prado had allegedly been parked along Muchai Road for about two hours before pursuing his brother's white Toyota Premio, registration number KDL 356C, shortly after he left Zeyhaj Lounge.

The pursuit ended when Abshir's vehicle veered into a drainage ditch near the Association of Kenya Insurers premises as its occupants attempted to escape.

"Three occupants left the vehicle," he told the court, explaining that his brother ran towards a nearby gate while the other two occupants fled in different directions.

He said the armed men pursued them on foot before catching up with Abshir, blindfolding him with a white piece of cloth and bundling him into the black Toyota Prado.

Zakaria said he was able to identify his brother in the footage through the clothes and shoes he had worn that night.

"One of the occupants, who is my brother, in his attempt to flee, abandoned one shoe," he told the court, adding that he positively identified it as belonging to Abshir.

He said the recordings, obtained from nearby premises with the assistance of investigating officers, covered events between 4.40 am and 4.43 am.

The witness further told the court that some of the armed men's faces were visible, while others deliberately concealed their identities.

He said one individual appeared to have covered his face with his hands before approaching and kicking his brother while he was blindfolded.

Zakaria argued that the manner in which the four armed men operated pointed to careful planning, surveillance and access to significant resources and personnel.

"It takes a certain amount of planning, significant resources, and personnel to pull off such an incident," he told the court.

The testimony also revisited an earlier incident in October 2025 when two men allegedly arrived at the family's home in a civilian vehicle, claiming to be estate management officials seeking an audience with Abshir.

Zakaria said the men subsequently handcuffed his brother and identified themselves as state officers only after forcefully entering the house and taking him away.

He told the court that one of the men, who later came to learn is a NIS officer, returned to the sitting room and took Abshir's laptop, which had been left on the dining table.

The family's younger sister recorded two short videos of the incident using her mobile phone despite allegedly being threatened by the men.

Zakaria said the earlier incident ended with Abshir being taken to the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU) headquarters, where he was held before being released on unconditional bond after the DPP rejected the police attempt to detain the lawyer for 7 to 10 days through court orders from Kahawa Law Courts.

He further told the court that he had subsequently managed to establish the identity of some individuals he believed were connected to the earlier incident.

He named Siyad Mohammed, whom he said he later learnt was among individuals linked to the National Intelligence Service (NIS) and was involved in the earlier abduction of his brother at their home on the night of October 9, 2025

He told the court that the man had introduced himself as an NIS officer to his brother's bailiff during the case pending in Makadara Law Courts.

He also mentioned Abdirahman Hassan, whom he identified among individuals he wanted questioned over the disappearance.

He also recounted information obtained from witnesses who described one of the men seen around the scene on November 1 as tall, heavily bearded and wearing spectacles, a sleeveless jacket and a black cap.

The witness further told the court that the family had concerns about the failure of security agencies to provide answers despite earlier complaints and the previous arrest.

He urged Justice Muteti to summon Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja, NIS Director-General Noordin Haji, DCI Director Amin Mohamed Ibrahim and the Director of the Counter-Terrorism Bureau to explain what they knew about the disappearance of his brother.

He also sought the appearance of individuals identified in the proceedings including the two NIS officers Siyad Mohammed and Abdirahman Hassan to explain their alleged involvement.

The family wants the security chiefs to account for the whereabouts of Abshir and explain whether officers under their respective commands had any role in his disappearance.

The latest developments come after an ATPU officer, Chief Inspector Vitalis Kibet, previously told the court that Abshir was not in the unit's custody and that he had no information regarding his whereabouts.

Kibet, however, acknowledged that Abshir had previously been arrested on October 9, 2025, and detained at the unit's Nairobi cells before being released.

The lawyer's disappearance has attracted widespread concern within the legal fraternity, with LSK demanding accountability from security agencies.