Kenyan President William Ruto serious on finding missing Indians, media corrects narrative on Zulfiqar Khan

New Delhi: Today's leading Kenyan newspaper said that "ongoing investigations have attracted the attention of Kenyan President William Ruto".

UPDATE: Zulfiqar Khan and his friend killed, claims a close aid of Kenyan President Ruto

As Newsdrum reported on Monday, there seems to be some progress on rescuing the top missing Indian media executive Zulfiqar Khan and his friend missing in Kenya for the last 90 days.

Friends of Zulfi, who had asked the Indian Prime Minister to intervene for the speedy recovery of missing Zulfikar, are thankful for the Indian authorities and President William Ruto, who has personally taken an interest in the ongoing investigation.

In addition, a few of the Kenya media are correcting their narrative regarding Zulfikar, who earlier said Zulfi was a cyber expert or IT expert but now are updating their story, admitting that he was a keen traveller.

Kenyan Newspapers are also saying that the Police handed the wrong Twitter account to the High court; as earlier told by friends of Zulfi, "Local Police in Kenya are clueless. They have been asked by the High Court of the land to produce Zulfi, but they have no idea where he is. There are scattershot reports in the Kenyan media where they picked up the wrong LinkedIn profile of another Zulfiqar Ahmed Khan and called our Zulfi a 'cyber security expert."

Kenya's local media is now researching Zulfiqar's profile and social media accounts like LinkedIn. The newspaper mentioned that Zulfiqar's trip to Kenya in July came five months after he toured Beijing, China, where he attended the Olympics.

In September 2021, Zulfikar was in Madrid, Spain, and shared images and videos before promising he would revisit the city. He arrived in Spain on September 11 of that year.

This week, President Ruto disbanded a crack police squad known as the Special Service Unit (SSU). He explained that he decided after receiving an investigation report last week on the disappearance of the two Indian nationals and their Kenyan taxi driver.

The report recommended disbanding the unit to pave the way for the conclusion of investigations before the file is forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions. President Ruto on Sunday said more changes were in the offing as his administration seeks to overhaul security management.

"We have a plan on how to secure this country so that we avoid the shame of Kenyans killed in Yala River and others. We are going to change this country for the better." The newspaper Nation quoted the President.

On Sunday, a senior detective at the DCI headquarters in Nairobi told the Nation that officers in the unit were disarmed and suspended. "The officers have also been put under 24-hour surveillance.

Another leading Kenyan media outlet, The Kenyans.co.ke, quoted Zulifikar's friend Rajiv Dubey, mentioning the petition that has since garnered around 5,000 signatures.

'Earlier, a news item on the missing Indians in the local Kenyan newspaper The Star said, "on the directive from the acting Inspector General of police Noor Gabow. An elite squad of Kenya's Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) was disbanded following revelations in an ongoing probe into the missing two Indians and their driver."

The newspaper added, "Police are holding two men, Edward Kamau and Fabian Mjomba Koehn, in connection with the missing two Indians and their driver since July 23. The two arrested were produced in court. The court granted the Police 21 days on October 7 to hold the two as investigations go on.

The newspaper, quoting investigators, says, "the investigation is complex and requires more time and collaboration with other government agencies, including Indian officials."

Last week The Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in his weekly media briefing, "There were two Indians, Zulfikar Ahmed Khan and Zaid Sami Kidwai. They have been missing since July 23. A police complaint has been filed there subsequently Habeas Corpus petition in the Kenyan Court."

"We understand the issue is now sub-judice in the High Court of Kenya. Several hearings have taken place. Recently, I think last week, one hearing took place."

"Our High Commission has been in constant touch with the Kenyan authorities. We are also in contact with some family members. Let me emphasize that we attach the highest considerations and attention to the safety and well-being of these two.

NewsDrum on October 8 reported that top Indian executive Zulfikar Khan, fondly known as Zulfi and his friend have been missing in Nairobi. Zulfi's friends remain worried as they are yet to get any further information from either Nairobi or New Delhi officials about the whereabouts of the missing Indians in Nairobi.

They appealed to the Prime Minister to intervene and ask the authorities to investigate speedily. Friends of Zulfi say They said, "We enjoyed watching his social media posts of breath-taking Masai Mara and all the amazing food he was partaking of."

In his telephone conversations with friends, he said he was returning on July 24 but planned to be back towards the year-end to witness the Great Migration across the Mara River.

Friends say that, but after July 21, there was complete silence. "No Facebook or Instagram updates, no phone calls, and what worried all his friends the most – our WhatsApp weren't showing as received."

Friends of Zulfi have issued a press note and a petition asking for support and making people aware of who Zulfi is pleading to bring him back home.

The petition says It breaks our hearts to know that so many months have passed and no reasonable efforts have been made to find him. If you sign my petition, the government could listen and help us find Zulfi.

In politically wobbly Kenya, extra-judicial killings and kidnappings are frequent. Previous governments with state agencies were often accused of being hand in glove with such incidents.