DCI under fire after arresting activists over June 25 protests
Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has come under scrutiny after the arrest of three individuals who have since been identified as human rights activists.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has come under scrutiny after the arrest of three individuals who have since been identified as human rights activists.
In its report, DCI alleged that the arrests made were of masterminds who organised the infiltration of goons in the June 25 commemorative protests.
However, fellow activists and human rights defenders have debunked DCI’s report as untrue and a ‘blatant act of criminalising dissent.’
In a statement on June 28, the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) claimed that the three had been arrested on trumped-up charges and demanded that they be released unconditionally.
“These charges are not only baseless, but they also represent a deliberate distortion of the truth,” part of the statement read.
“The three comrades are well-known human rights defenders regionally recognised for their integration of music and art into movement building as well as consistent solidarity with the oppressed as key pillars of their organising.”
In its arrest report, the DCI had stated that the three had used coordinated channels and social media posts to incite goons to violence, massive theft and destruction of property during the protests.
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As such, DCI claimed that this propagated a narrative that undermined national stability and the constitutionally protected right to assemble and picket peaceably, thus warranting their arrests.
On June 26, just a day after the protests, they were arrested off a Mombasa-bound bus at the Konza City section, allegedly following an in-depth forensic investigation triggered by testimonies from concerned and affected citizens.
They are expected to be arraigned on Monday, where DCI projects charges regarding malicious damage to property, arson, stealing and incitement to violence and disobedience of the law.
Besides the KHRC, the party where the three belong has also come out guns blazing, demanding the immediate release of its party members, where one serves as the secretary general and the other two as members.
In a statement, the Ukweli Party called out President William Ruto specifically, claiming that he funded the goons who were deployed to the protests.
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