Member of Parliament for Manyatta Constituency Gitonga Mukunji.
The State will prefer terror-related charges against seven young people arrested in Machakos County during the Saba Saba demonstrations on July 7.
The six men and a woman were re-arrested at Kithimani in Machakos on Tuesday, soon after the prosecution dropped arson and malicious damage charges against them.
The suspects are expected to be charged at the Kahawa Law Courts this morning. They will be joining a growing list of people slapped with terrorism-related charges, following the demonstrations on June 25 and July 7.
Ten other suspects from Matuu in Machakos are already facing similar charges after the June 25 protests.
At the same time, Kahawa Law Courts Senior Principal Magistrate Richard Koech rejected an application by the prosecution to deny bail for eight people linked to the July 3 arson attack on Mawego Police Station in Homa Bay County.
The accused were initially charged with arson and malicious damage to property. However, the charges were amended as the State included a terror-related charge under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
Kennedy Oluoch, Nicholas Otieno, Tofiq Owiti Mohamed, Michael Omondi Opiyo, David Bill Clinton Otieno, Robert Ouko Abala, Samuel Ouma Odhiambo and Erick Obunga Osumba, have denied three counts of committing a terrorist act, arson and malicious damage to property.
Mr Koech said the prosecution failed to table compelling reasons to deny the eight their constitutional right to bail. The court directed that a probation report on the social background of each accused persons be filed in court within 10 days.
The court said the report will assist in arriving at the bond terms to be imposed on each of them.
As part of the conditions for their release, the magistrate ordered the suspects not to interfere with ongoing investigations or contact any of the witnesses, directly or indirectly. The court also directed them to stay at least three kilometres away from Mawego Police Station.
The eight were initially taken to Oyugis Law Courts on July 7 and detained for seven days.
They were re-arrested on July 14 and transferred to the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU) headquarters in Nairobi, where the new charges were filed.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) said that the eight were key orchestrators of the coordinated attack, which occurred during the funeral procession of teacher-cum-blogger Albert Ojwang, who died while in custody at Central Police Station in Nairobi.
In a related development, Manyatta Member of Parliament John Mukunji on Tuesday moved to the High Court, accusing the government of using Prevention of Terrorism Act to silence critics.
The MP, who was arrested on July 7 during the Saba Saba protests alongside journalist James Ikuwa and a boda boda rider Stanley Mbuthia, said there was an emerging and alarming trend where people arrested during the demos, were charged with crimes under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
Some of the 86 suspects who were arrested for blocking Nakuru-Nairobi highway during Saba Saba protests on July 7, 2025 in a Nakuru Law Court on July 9, 2025.
He said the Act, which was enacted after a chain of terror attacks in the country, was not meant to be used to clamp down on people opposing the government.
Mr Mukunji and the two other suspects are out on bond after a Kahawa Law Courts magistrate rejected an application to detain them pending conclusion of investigations.
The MP said that during the hearing of the application, he met Mr Peter Kinyanjui Wanjiru and others who were charged with committing terrorist acts contrary to the Prevention of Terrorism over the June 25 and July Gen-Z protests.
“That the weaponisation the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2012 for purposes other than charging persons suspected of engaging in actual terrorism is a spit on the graves of those who died from actual terrorist attacks, and an insult to the thousands of survivors,” Mr Mukunji said.
The lawmaker said that the government was “weaponising” the Act, just like President Daniel Moi’s regime did when it used several laws including the Public Order Act, Preservation of Public Security Act and some sections of the Penal Code, to silence dissent in the run-up to the second liberation.
He said that if the police and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Renson Ingonga are allowed to prefer charges under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, the same would have serious ramifications on them even if they are not convicted.
Director of Public Prosecutions Renson Ingonga.
The MP said he risked facing travel restrictions and sanctions on financial transactions.
Mr Mukunji said they were apprehensive that the State will not accord them protection as guaranteed by the Constitution, and that the DPP might not exercise his independence and powers, according to the law.
The MP wants the court to issue a temporary order prohibiting the police and the DPP from preferring the charges against him, pending the determination of the petition.
He also wants the court to stop the police from conducting forensic analysis on mobile phones that were seized from him.
Mr Mukunji said attempts to access and extract private data from his mobile phones without a lawful basis, amounts to an unlawful intrusion into their personal life, communication, and digital footprint.
The MP, who is also the chairman of the Kenya Young Parliamentarians Association, said though elected on the ruling party’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA) ticket, says he does not shy away from criticizing the government of the day whenever it goes astray. He said the criticism had made him fall out of favour with the current regime.
He said he was driving along Thika Superhighway when he came met Mr Ikuwa, who was covering the protests.
And since they were acquaintances and there were no public transport vehicles on the road due to said protests, he offered him a lift.
They were arrested near Toll area in Juja and taken to Kibii Police Station.
After spending several days in custody, the court declined an application by the prosecution to detain them for 14 days, pending conclusion of investigations.
The MP said the arbitrary and unconstitutional arrest, arraignment had seen them incur expenses in terms of legal fees and will therefore, be seeking compensated for damages and all the expenses.
