DCP youth leaders Thiga, Kawanjiru freed on Sh50K cash bail
DCP youth leaders Thiga, Kawanjiru freed on Sh50K cash bail
Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s allies Wanjiku Thiga and Peter Kinyanjui alias Kawanjiru can now breathe a sigh of relief after a Kahawa court freed them on Sh50,000 cash bail each.
This was after a Kahawa court on Wednesday granted the two DCP Youth officials bond terms of Sh200,000 each, with a surety of a similar amount.
Alternatively, they were offered the option of securing their release on a cash bail of Sh50,000 each, with one contact person provided.
Magistrate Gideon Kiage ruled that there were no sufficient or reasonable grounds to continue holding them, alongside dozens of other protesters who had been arraigned.
Kiage noted that although the two had been charged under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, the mere seriousness of the offence alone was not enough to override the presumption of innocence guaranteed under the Constitution.
He further stated he was not persuaded that the preferring of charges alone amounted to a compelling reason to deny bail.
“In the present case, the accused persons have been charged with an offence under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. That mere fact, however, in the absence of any other ground in support thereto, does not and cannot suffice to upset the presumption of innocence as guaranteed under the Constitution,” Magistrate Kiage ruled.
“To hold otherwise would be tantamount to affirming that all that is needed for the denial of bail is for the prosecution to present serious-sounding charges with stiff penalties.”
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Kiage observed that the investigating officers had had sufficient time, between 13 and 22 days depending on the dates of arrest, to verify the accused persons’ identities and conduct any necessary background checks.
He dismissed claims in the prosecution’s documents, noting it relied on statements from undisclosed individuals whose credibility had not been verified.
“This is an invitation which the court must politely turn down,” he said.
The two were initially released on bond earlier by the Kiambu and Ruiru courts after being charged with offences related to unlawful assembly and rioting during the June 25, 2025, protests.
However, they were immediately rearrested and presented afresh before the Kahawa court, where they faced fresh charges under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, a move their lawyers described as harassment and an abuse of the judicial process.
Notably, three foreign nationals who were among the protesters were also released on bond.
The court ordered them to post a bond of Sh200,000 each with a Kenyan surety of a similar amount. They were not given the option of paying a fine.
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