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Kenya, 13 November 2026 - Released lawyer Abshir Ahmedsadak Abdi on Friday appeared before Justice Alexander Muteti in Nairobi, a day after he was found dumped in a thicket in Sololo town in northern Kenya.
He was found alive on Thursday after days of searching that involved legal avenues and street activism.
Abdi, alongside another abductee, Ayub Maalim, appeared before Justice Muteti at the Milimani High Court. Both were accompanied by their relatives. Lawyers Eric Theuri, Ian Mutiso and Abner Mango urged the court to receive evidence from the two to explain the circumstances under which they were held and released.
“These victims were dumped in a zone where there is conflict on the Ethiopian side so that their abductors cannot be blamed,” Theuri told Justice Muteti.
He was found by herders who mistook him for a refugee. Later in the day, Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President Charles Kanjama disclosed that the advocate had been found.
On 11 November 2026, his brother Zakaria Abdi had testified in court about how his brother was abducted. Before he was found, the family had urged the High Court to compel the top echelons of the National Police Service (NPS) to produce him dead or alive.
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However, the police, through their lawyer, Senior Counsel Paul Nyamondi, informed the court that they had embarked on a serious investigation to bring the abductors to book and to rescue Abshir.
In a sworn affidavit, Zakaria told the court that members of the public informed investigating officers that they had witnessed Abdi’s vehicle being pursued by two vehicles, a black TX model vehicle and a black double-cabin vehicle, before it veered into a ditch.
“The members of the public further informed the investigating officer that they saw the armed individuals arrest the occupant of the white motor vehicle and forcefully drag him into the TX vehicle,” he stated.
The family said at the time Abdi was held captive, his mobile phones remained switched off since the incident. A missing person report was lodged at Kilimani Police Station under OB number 55/1/11/2026.
The application raised concern about possible links between the disappearance and an ongoing criminal case at Makadara Law Courts, where Abdi is a witness.
According to his brother, the advocate had previously received threats, allegedly from officers linked to the National Intelligence Service, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, the Counter Terrorism Bureau and the Kenya Defence Forces, warning him to withdraw from the case or face abduction and death.