A habeas corpus application has been filed at the High Court seeking the urgent production of Nairobi-based lawyer Abshir Ahmedsadak Abdi, who is reportedly missing following an alleged abduction on October 31, 2026.
The applicants want the court to compel security agencies to produce Abdi before the Milimani High Court Criminal Duty Court within 24 hours and account for his whereabouts and the circumstances surrounding his disappearance.
Through the application, the family is seeking a mandatory habeas corpus order directing the police to present the advocate in court alongside the original warrant or legal order authorising his detention, if any.
The applicants are also seeking conservatory orders barring the respondents from arresting, detaining or continuing to hold Abdi without the authority of the High Court. They further want the court to order his unconditional release if he is presented before it and no lawful basis for his detention is established.
The application is supported by an affidavit sworn by Zakaria Abshir, the lawyer's brother, who identifies Abdi as an Advocate of the High Court practising at Abshir & Njagi Advocates in Kilimani, Nairobi.
According to the affidavit, Abdi informed his brother on October 31 that he intended to attend a friend's wedding in Kilimani. That was reportedly the last communication the family received from him before his mobile phones became unreachable the following morning.
On November 1, the family received a telephone call from a Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) officer based at Kilimani Police Station, informing them that Abdi's vehicle, registration number KDL 356C, had been discovered abandoned along Muchai Road, off Ngong Road, near the Association of Kenya Insurers offices.
The white vehicle reportedly had visible scratches and dents, raising concerns about the circumstances under which it had been abandoned.
The affidavit further states that members of the public who witnessed the incident told police that the vehicle had been pursued by two other vehicles, identified as a black Toyota Prado TX and a black double-cabin vehicle.
According to the accounts cited in the application, the occupants of the two vehicles were dressed in tactical combat uniforms and bulletproof vests and were openly carrying firearms. The witnesses allegedly saw the armed individuals stop the white vehicle, arrest its occupant and forcibly drag him into the Land Cruiser before driving away.
The family suspects that the incident was a carefully coordinated abduction and says it subsequently reported Abdi's disappearance at Kilimani Police Station under Occurrence Book (OB) Number 55/1/11/2026.
The applicants have also raised concerns over Abdi's involvement in a contentious criminal case pending before the Makadara Law Courts, identified as MCCR/E2910/2025, Republic versus Ahmed Ali Mohamed, in which the advocate is reportedly a witness.
In the affidavit, the family alleges that officers drawn from the National Intelligence Service (NIS), the DCI, the Counter Terrorism Bureau and the Kenya Defence Forces had previously threatened both the complainant and Abdi with abduction and death unless they withdrew the case.
The application further recounts an earlier incident on October 9, 2025, when Abdi was allegedly arrested by officers from the Counter Terrorism Bureau, NIS and the Directorate of Military Intelligence.
He was subsequently released unconditionally after the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions declined to approve custodial orders, according to the affidavit. The family says a formal complaint concerning the incident was lodged with oversight agencies through a letter dated October 25, 2025.
Beyond seeking Abdi's immediate production in court, the applicants want orders compelling the preservation and production of CCTV footage, Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) records, toll records, mobile network data, border records and motor vehicle tracking information covering Muchai Road and its surrounding areas from October 31.
They are also seeking orders directing the second and third interested parties to conduct independent investigations into the alleged abduction and submit a report to the court within 14 days.
