Senate has summoned Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen and Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja to explain a surge in abductions and organized hooliganism that lawmakers warn is creating public panic and damaging the country’s international reputation ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The Senate Committee on National Security, Defence and Foreign Relations, chaired by Isiolo Senator Fatuma Dullo, directed the two officials to appear before the panel on Thursday, November 19, 2026, to account for the government’s response to a string of high-profile disappearances and violent incidents.
The summons followed a committee session on Tuesday in which senators raised alarm over what they described as a growing pattern of enforced disappearances across multiple counties. Dullo singled out Isiolo County, where she said approximately ten people had been abducted in recent weeks.
“We are experiencing so many abductions across the country. For instance, in a county like Isiolo, about 10 people have been abducted. This is shocking and is creating fear among Kenyans,” Dullo said during the meeting.
Committee members warned that the unabated abductions and hooliganism could tarnish Kenya’s image abroad and negatively impact the tourism sector, a key foreign exchange earner. They also cautioned that the security climate was particularly concerning as the country prepares for the 2027 General Election.
The Senate summons are the latest in a series of legal and political challenges facing Murkomen and Kanja over enforced disappearances.
Among the cases cited by the committee is the recent abduction of Nairobi advocate Abshir Ahmedsadak Abdi. On November 4, the High Court ordered police to produce Abdi in court – alive or dead – by 2:30 p.m., as his disappearance entered its fourth day. The court named Kanja, DCI Director Amin Mohammed, NIS leadership, and Murkomen as respondents in that case.
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A separate case involves Enock Chebon Chelimo, a Baringo businessman and church elder who was allegedly taken from his home in Kampi Samaki on the night of October 31 by heavily armed officers travelling in three cream-coloured Land Cruisers.
His family, represented by lawyer Danstan Omari, filed an urgent application at the Milimani High Court seeking orders compelling Kanja and Murkomen to disclose Chelimo’s whereabouts and produce him in court by November 10.
The family alleges that Chelimo’s disappearance followed threats from local authorities over an alleged AK-47 rifle – a claim the family denies – and that police stations in Marigat, Kabarnet, and Kampi Samaki refused to record their statements when they attempted to report the disappearance.
The security officials also face a broader legal challenge from human rights organisations and three individuals who sued them last week over an alleged failure to prevent escalating political violence ahead of the 2027 elections. That lawsuit names NIS Director-General Noordin Haji, Kanja, and Murkomen as respondents.
The Senate committee has also summoned Mining and Blue Economy Cabinet Secretary Hassan Joho to appear on Thursday, November 26, though the specific subject of his summons was not immediately detailed in the committee’s announcement.
Murkomen and Kanja are expected to outline the specific measures the National Police Service and the Interior Ministry are taking to address the abductions and identify those responsible. Neither official had publicly responded to the Senate summons as of Tuesday evening.
