DCI Tells Court To Detain 185 Protestors For 21 Days
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations has filed an application to detain approximately 185 protestors arrested on Tuesday during anti-government protests for 21 days.
The police say they’re looking into a case of breaking into a building in violation of Section 306 of the Penal Code, causing malicious damage to property, and obstructing police officers from carrying out their duties.
According to a miscellaneous application filed by Inspector George Karanja, the protestors held a demonstration in Nairobi CBD on July 2, 2024, between 0900 hours and 2000 hours to demand the rejection of the Finance Bill 2024-25.
Karanja claims that in the process, they became chaotic and broke into several business premises within the CBD.
Furthermore, the DCI claims that the protesters assaulted a Rapid Deployment Unit officer, who was shot, and that one of the protesters fired the bullet.
The DCI also informed the Court that the protesters barricaded roads with wooden coffins and stole from unsuspecting members of the public.
The court heard that 185 protesters were arrested at the scene of the crime, 14 coffins were recovered, and one police motor vehicle registration was extensively damaged.
185 arrested persons are in court, 18 minors are among them. The @ODPP_KE wants to hold them in police stations for 21 days for investigations and then decide what to charge them with. We await the ruling of the court.
— 🇰🇪 James WaNjeri (@JamesKWaNjeri) July 3, 2024
The DCI informed the Court that investigations into the offenses are ongoing and that the firearm used to attack police officers had yet to be recovered.
“We are praying that the suspects be detained at Capitol Hill, Kilimani, Gigiri and Muthangari police stations as we continue with investigations and ascertain the damage and value of properties destroyed,” the police state in the application.
DCI claimed that the arrested protesters are a flight risk because their places of abode remain unknown.
DCI Tells Court To Detain 185 Protestors For 21 Days
