New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Kenyan President William Ruto Tuesday discussed the case of two Indian tourists who went missing in capital Nairobi in July last year, along with their local driver.
Ministry of External Affairs Secretary (Economic Relations) Dammu Ravi said the issue came up between the leaders, and that authorities from both sides have been in contact over this. “But we should not speculate because the investigation is ongoing. It is sub judice in the courts of Kenya,” Ravi told the media.
Also present was Indian High Commissioner to Kenya Namgya C. Khampa who said the embassy continued to monitor the situation and was engaged with Kenyan authorities on the matter.
On the night of 22 July 2022, Zulfiqar Ahmad Khan and Mohammad Zaid Sami Kidwai stepped out of their hotel and went to a bar around 10.45 pm, with their local driver. Close to midnight, Kidwai texted his wife Ambreen — who was travelling with them — that he would be back in 15 minutes. The men had not returned, when Ambreen woke up around 3 am, nor could she get through their cell phones, BBC reported.
In October 2022, nine former Kenyan policemen from the elite Special Services Unit were arrested by the local police on charges of kidnapping and murdering the three men.
The Special Services Unit was disbanded by Ruto in October 2022 for allegedly carrying out extrajudicial killings.
Exactly a year later, six others, including four Special Services Unit members, one officer from the National Intelligence Service of Kenya and one from the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) were also charged in the case.
The two Indians were reportedly linked to Ruto’s presidential campaign that brought him to power in September 2022. ThePrint cannot verify these claims reported by the Kenyan media.
“The (Indian) High Commission continues to monitor these developments and continues to be engaged with the authorities in Kenya on this matter,” said Khampa at the press briefing by the MEA Tuesday.
The 48-year-old Khan, a former chief operating officer of Mumbai-based Balaji Telefilms, had travelled to Kenya on a tourist visa on 24 June 2022, according to media reports.
Kidwai, 36, had also come to Nairobi on a tourist visa, BBC reported, adding that the man from Lucknow lived in Dubai.
Agriculture, defence and maritime cooperation
The two heads of state discussed cooperation in a wide range of sectors during Ruto’s first state visit to India from 4-6 December, which included agriculture, defence, space, environment and maritime security.
Earlier Tuesday, Modi announced a $250 million credit line to Kenya for the modernisation of its agricultural sector.
“$250 million is actually for agricultural machinery. It is our policy as part of the development partnership… The recipient country will decide how they want to utilise it… What came out very clearly is that they would like to use it for agriculture – agricultural machinery, tools,” MEA secretary Ravi said during the MEA media briefing.
“They (Kenyan government) are willing to provide large tracts of land for Indian entrepreneurs to do agricultural farming in many areas – crops that Africa needs, not just for Kenya, including millets,” he added.
Ravi also mentioned that the environment ministry expressed interest in cooperating with the Kenyan government on Project Cheetah — India’s initiative since 2022 to introduce African cheetahs in the country. The large cat had become extinct in India over 70 years ago.
On maritime security and cooperation, Ravi said there was an interest to cooperate due to common concerns over piracy, but he added this was an “ongoing activity”. Hydrographic surveys have also been a part of the cooperation between Nairobi and New Delhi, he further said.
“The capacity building for the defence personnel… came up in the discussion today, to further deepen that area (of cooperation). They have been regularly participating in the defence expo, so I think in the broader sense, this is going to deepen in the days to come,” Ravi added.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)