3 min readNew DelhiOct 26, 2022 09:26 AM IST
First published on: Oct 25, 2022 at 08:01 AM IST
Days after a close aide of the Kenyan President claimed that former media executive Zulfiqar Ahmad Khan, missing in Kenya since July, had been killed along with another Indian national, the Indian High Commissioner in Nairobi met President William Ruto to convey “deep concern” and requested “expediting of investigations” into the matter.
The Ministry of External Affairs said Monday night that the specific circumstances “surrounding the abduction and subsequent lack of information” was “very disturbing”, and expected that the case would be thoroughly investigated.
Arindam Bagchi, spokesperson for the MEA, said, “We have been in regular touch with the Kenyan government to locate the whereabouts of the two missing Indian nationals, Mr Mohammad Zaid Sami Kidwai and Mr Zulfiqar Ahmed Khan.”
“Our High Commissioner in Nairobi, Ms Namgya Khampa, today called on President William Samoei Ruto to convey our deep concern and request the expediting of investigations into the matter,” he said.
“The High Commissioner of Kenya in New Delhi was also called into the Ministry on October 23 to convey our concerns in the matter,” Bagchi said.
He said the Indian High Commission in Kenya was in touch with the family members of the two Indians and assisting them.
“The case is under active investigation by the Internal Affairs Unit (IAU) of Kenyan Police. We have noted that several people have been taken into custody in this connection including officials of the recently abolished Special Service Unit of the Kenyan Police,” he said.
“The specific circumstances surrounding the abduction and subsequent lack of information is very disturbing. We expect that the case will be investigated thoroughly.”
He said the Ministry continues to monitor all developments related to this case.
It is learnt that 48-year-old Khan, COO of Ekta Kapoor’s Balaji Telefilms and a former executive of Star Plus, was caught in the bitter fight between political parties in Kenya where elections were held in August this year. Ruto won the elections and became President in September, defeating incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta.
It is learnt that in the run-up to the elections, Khan was tapped by Ruto’s team, which was then in the Opposition, for help in their social media campaign. This did not go down well with the ruling establishment led by President Kenyatta. As a result, he was abducted — a claim substantiated by President Ruto’s aide Dennis Itumbi.
In a Twitter post, Itumbi said the missing Indian had been killed by the now-disbanded Special Service Unit (SSU), a group accused of extrajudicial killings.
Khan and his friend Kidwai, who were part of the Kenya Kwanza digital campaign team, went missing along with taxi driver Nicodemus Mwania from Mombasa Road in July. Itumbi said they were working for Ruto’s campaign.
Zulfiqar Ahmed Khan went missing in July (Express) 
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