Acting IG Sentenced to Six Months for Court Absence

Acting Inspector General of Police Gilbert Masengeli has been sentenced to six months in prison for failing to appear in court for questioning regarding the abduction of two brothers, Jamil Longton and Aslam Longton, as well as activist Bob Njagi. The trio was reportedly abducted in Kitengela by unknown individuals.

Masengeli had previously applied to the court to overturn his conviction and suspend the intended sentence, arguing that he had critical security matters to attend to in various regions. He explained that his absence from court on September 5 and September 9, 2024, was due to these pressing national security responsibilities.

In a ruling delivered on September 13, 2024, Justice Lawrence Mugambi ordered Masengeli to surrender to the Commissioner General of Prisons within the next seven days to begin serving his sentence. “Masengeli is to surrender himself to the Commissioner General of Prisons to ensure he is committed to a prison facility to commence the sentence imposed,” Mugambi stated.

The judge also emphasized that if Masengeli fails to comply with the order,Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki must take necessary steps to ensure that Masengeli serves his sentence.