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On July 6, 2022, Stephen Mutini, 36, drove his Toyota Mark X car from his shop in Nairobi’s Central Business District and headed to Thika town for a medical check-up.

The father of three disappeared shortly after leaving the hospital.

Later, his vandalised car was found dumped at Tatu City area on the Ruiru-Kiambu road, about 37km away. And four months down the line, he has never been found.

His devastated family has been searching for him everywhere and has visited mortuaries and infamous dumping sites, such as River Yala in western Kenya, to no avail.

While relatives say Mutini had no criminal record, he had been arrested by plainclothed officers a month before he disappeared, and taken to Pangani Police Station, Nairobi.

At the station, according to his brother Robert Gatimu, Mutini was questioned regarding a mobile phone. His photo was then taken and he was freed the same day.

“The officers asked him whether the phone he was using was an I-phone. When he replied in the affirmative, they said he was not the one they were looking for. He was interrogated by two people and later photographed. The picture was sent to a WhatsApp group. Since then, there was no other incident until his disappearance,” Gatimu said.

With the recent expose by the Independent Policing and Oversight Authority (IPOA) that close to 100 people have been killed after forced disappearances, and revelations by President William Ruto about a police killer squad, Mutini’s family is now very apprehensive.

According to Gatimu, Mutini’s home is in Ruiru. He had visited Kinai Spines, a health facility in Thika town, to seek medical attention over a dislocated shoulder .

At the facility, Mutini found a long queue and, to pass the time, telephoned Gatimu. The two brothers went to a local hotel where they discussed various issues over a meal.

After two hours, they parted ways. Gatimu says that at about 5pm, a friend known as James called him informing him that Mutini’s phone was off. “He said my brother had called him at about 4pm with instructions that he orders meat in a butchery which they were to eat when he arrived. But when he called back, the phone was off,” he states.

“We decided to go to Thika to check at the hospital, but on our way there another friend called us at around 8pm and said he had seen a car similar to that of my brother parked somewhere near Tatu City. I gave him the car’s registration number and he returned to the spot, only to confirm it was the one. We rushed to the area and found the car unlocked and vandalised,” he said.

Preliminary reports indicate that Mutini may have been abducted around Ndarugo area, Thika Road. Interestingly, his phone was later switched on, and the user kept sending disturbing messages to Mutini’s relatives, demanding Sh600,000 to secure his release. The phone was also traced to various locations in Nairobi — Nyerere Road, Department of Defence, Kangemi, Thika Road and later Busia — before finally going off in early August.

The matter was reported to Membley Police Station and recorded in the occurrence book No 18-06/07/2022 at 23:55 hours. The case was later referred to Ruiru Police Station where it was taken over by detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) unit who towed the car to the station.

Preliminary reports indicate that Mutini may have been abducted around Ndarugo area, Thika Road. Interestingly, his phone was later switched on, and the user kept sending disturbing messages to Mutini’s relatives, demanding Sh600,000 to secure his release. The phone would be traced to various locations in Nairobi including Nyerere Road, Department of Defense (DOD), Kangemi, Thika Road and later Busia before going off completely at the beginning of August.

 after he was allegedly arrested in Tanzania over a deal gone sour.

The phone would be traced to various locations in Nairobi including Nyerere Road, Department of Defense (DOD), Kangemi, Thika Road and later Busia before going off completely at the beginning of August.

One of the message to Gatimu, sent from the missing man’s phone and dated July 27, 2022 reads; “Niaje bro? Niko kwa noma TZ. Makarau na immigration. Tulikuwa na ka deal fulani na mzee wa TZ anaitwa Jay.Bahati mabya tukapatwa. Wanadai 600k, 300k kila msee. Jay amepata yake kiasi. Naomba unitafutie by Friday, uniwekee kwa M-pesa. Wametupee phones nikufanye doo tuwalipe tusiende kortini. Nikienza toka by next week tujue niaje. Usiambie yeyote ni aibu kubwa. (Hey brother? I am in problems in Tanzania with police and immigration officials. We had a deal with someone called Jay from Tanzania but unfortunately we were caught. They are demanding Sh600,000, Sh300,000 from each of us. Jay has already raised his.  Please sort me by Friday. Send it through M-Pesa. I will refund once I am out next week. And don’t tell anyone because it is embarrassing.”

Mutini’s family question why the alleged Tanzanian authorities would not allow them to talk to their relative, instead insisting that they communicate via Whatsapp messages.

Efforts to get a comment from Ruiru Police Station where the matter was handled failed with the OCPD Cecilia Kemboi simply retorting; “I cannot recall such an incident.”

The local DCI boss, Justus Ombati, would also not be drawn into discussing the matter with People daily, maintaining that he was “busy attending a meeting at Police headquarters and would revert.” He never did.