BY IRENE ONYANGO.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations wants to be allowed to continue holding more than 180 protestors who were arrested on Tuesday during anti-Finance Bill demonstrations in Nairobi.
In an application before a Nairobi court, the police said they were yet to complete investigations against the 185 youths.
Inspector George Karanja said in a miscellaneous application that they are investigating allegations of malicious damage of properties, assaulting police officers and obstructing police officers in execution of their duties.
He asked the court to detain the suspects at Gigiri, Kilimani, Capitol Hill and Muthangari Police Stations for a period of 21 days as they conclude the investigations.
According to Karanja, the respondents with others mounted demonstrations agitating for the rejection of the Finance bill 2024/2025 and in the process, they turned chaotic.
He claimed that the demonstrators broke into shops and supermarkets within the Central Business District, assaulting police officers, and obstructing police officers from conducting their duties by barricading the road using wooden coffins. Others, he said stole from unsuspecting members of public.
“The respondents were arrested at the scenes of crime and fourteen coffins recovered and one Police Motor Vehicle registration number GKA 689V Nissan Xtrail was extensively damaged and several police officers injured with one officer suffering gunshot wounds by bullet fired by the protestors,” stated Karanja.
The police further the Milimani Principal Magistrate Wandia Nyamu since the suspects were arrested at the CBD, they fear that the protesters are flight risk and might abscond court if released on cashbail.
Additionally, Karanja stated that investigations into the firearm that was used to shoot one of the police officers during the demonstrations is ongoing and the same is yet to be recovered.
The prosters were represented by 17 members of the Law Society of Kenya led by the Vice President Mwaura Kabata.
The defense opposed the application stating that the odpp is seeking for 21 days at the expense of youths who were arrested conducting their democratic rights which is guaranteed under article 37 of the constitution on their right to demonstrate.
The defense further told the court that the whole country is aligned to the movement started by the youth, a movement that is intended to bring both accountability and transparency to the actions taken by the executive.
“The executive through the arm of the police has teamed up with the ODPP to deprive innocent youths of their liberty through the issue of a custodial detention that has already been settled by the high court,” stated Christine M Murithi, one of the advocates.
The court heard that the prosters, after the arrest, were all kept in one room irrespective of their gender and age.
Among the protesters were; Kelly Kaiga, Darwin Onono, Kennedy Onyango, David Thuita, Stephen Munyao, Edu Kimani, Gabriel Githii, David Muindi, Roy Mwangi, Samwel Kepha, Alfred Ouma, Howard Ojengwa and Job Muraguri.
