The judge suspended the sentence for seven days to provide Gilbert Masengeli with a final opportunity to appear in court before he is required to report to jail.

Reuters reported that Kenya's acting chief of police was sentenced to six months in prison on Friday after repeatedly defying orders to testify about the whereabouts of three men who have been missing since allegedly being taken by police officers.

The three individuals were vocal on social media in support of mass anti-government protests that occurred in June and July.

The judge at the High Court in Nairobi has suspended the sentence for seven days to allow Gilbert Masengeli, the acting inspector general of police, a final opportunity to appear in court before he must report to jail.

This case originates from a lawsuit filed by the Law Society of Kenya, the country's main bar association, which is seeking a court order for the release of the three men who, according to the society, were detained by police in August and have been unaccounted for since.

Human rights activists have alleged that dozens of people involved in the protests were abducted by state agents and held incommunicado, although most were eventually released.

President William Ruto has pledged to investigate these allegations, while broadly defending the conduct of state security services during the protests.

Judge Lawrence Mugambi had summoned Masengeli to court on seven occasions to disclose the whereabouts of the three men, but Masengeli failed to comply.

Mugambi stated, "If he does not report to the Commissioner General of Prisons, the Minister of Interior must take all necessary and legally permissible actions to ensure that Gilbert Masengeli is committed to prison."

Police spokeswoman Resila Onyango did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In a presentation made on Thursday, Masengeli's lawyers requested that the judge suspend the contempt verdict, noting that efforts to locate the three men are ongoing.