299 persons who were detained on Sunday at the Kabiru-ini grounds in Nyeri County during an operation against followers of former Mungiki leader Maina Njenga have been freed on a Sh10,000 bond, each.
Njenga who was scheduled to host a meeting denounced the government for intimidating and detaining the accused.
Once the charges against them were read to them, one of the suspects entered a not guilty plea.
Shortly after their release, the accused sang songs of freedom.
They were represented by lawyer Ndegwa Njiru who claimed their arrest was as a result of a political witch-hunt.
According to the defence lawyer, the move was masterminded by a politician from the Mt Kenya region.
“We are here to say that you cannot criminalize young Kikuyu men. All those people arrested were never arrested from Kibiru-ini, they were arrested on the streets of Nyeri and we therefore want to ask the court to tell us, what is wrong with being a Kikuyu young man?” he wondered.
Read: Major Crackdown in Nyeri Town as Police Thwart Ex-mungiki Leader Maina Njenga’s Meeting
On Sunday, security checks were mounted at all highways leading to Nyeri town, signaling that a directive had been issued by the State to stop the meeting.
The police were stationed at Nyeri-Nairobi, Nyeri-Nyahururu and Nyeri-Nanyuki highways.
Nyeri County Commissioner Pius Murugu issued a directive that the meeting be banned.
He also directed the National Government Administration Officers (NGAO) and nyumba kumi elders at the grassroots to remain alert and curb any forms of gatherings.
“We have heard that there are some people who want to convene a meeting here and disrupt peace. We will not allow that meeting in our area. Nyeri has been a peaceful county, and we will not take chances in exposing our citizens to insecurity,” Murugu said.
Njenga said on phone the meeting was peaceful to celebrate the end of the year.
“This is wrong to harass innocent people. We are peaceful,” he said.
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