Family Files Habeas Corpus to Locate Lawyer Abshir Ahmedsadak Abdi

The Milimani High Court has been asked to intervene in the disappearance of Nairobi lawyer Abshir Ahmedsadak Abdi after he was allegedly seized by armed men on Muchai Road in the early hours of November 1, 2026.

In the urgent habeas corpus application filed by his brother Zakaria Abshir, the advocate was reported to have been seen at about 4 am when unidentified individuals wearing tactical military gear forced him to kneel and load him into a black Toyota Land Cruiser Prado TX.

The lawyer’s white Toyota Premio, registration KDL 356C, was later found abandoned on Muchai Road and was towed to Kilimani Police Station.

Zakaria’s affidavit states that witnesses saw the lawyer’s vehicle pursued by a black Prado TX and a black double-cabin vehicle before it veered into a ditch, where the armed men allegedly arrested the occupant and dragged him into the Prado.

The family notes that Abdi’s mobile phones have remained switched off since the incident and that a missing-person report was lodged at Kilimani Police Station under OB number 55/1/11/2026.

The application seeks orders compelling the National Intelligence Service, Directorate of Military Intelligence, National Police Service, Directorate of Criminal Investigations and the Counter Terrorism Bureau to produce Abdi within 24 hours and to disclose any warrant authorising his detention.

It also requests summons for named security officials, preservation of CCTV footage, vehicle-tracking data and mobile-network records covering the area, and an independent inquiry by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority and the Intelligence Service Complaints Board within 14 days.

Zakaria links the disappearance to an ongoing criminal case at the Makadara Law Courts where his brother is a witness, and alleges prior threats from officers associated with the National Intelligence Service, Directorate of Criminal Investigations, Counter Terrorism Bureau and Kenya Defence Forces.

Court documents indicate that Abdi was arrested on October 9, 2025 by personnel allegedly drawn from intelligence and security agencies, but was released after the Director of Public Prosecutions declined to approve a custodial order.

The brother says Abdi later filed complaints with senior security officials but reports no follow-up; police have confirmed that an investigation into the disappearance is under way.