The High Court awarded blogger and activist Ndiang’ui Kinyagia Sh5 million in damages for violations of his rights during a police raid at his Kinoo home in June 2025.
The court also barred the police and the Director of Public Prosecutions from prosecuting Kinyagia over the investigative process that followed the raid, which it found to be unconstitutional.
Justice Patricia Mande Nyaundi ruled that the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) violated Kinyagia’s rights to privacy and property when officers entered his house, searched the premises and seized several items on June 21, 2025.
This was seen as a win for many whose homes are searched without a warrant.
Kinyagia had gone missing from his Kinoo, Kiambu County home on June 22, 2025, triggering weeks of speculation and public uproar over his whereabouts before he resurfaced at a Nairobi court that Thursday.
His lawyer, Wahome Thuku, said the blogger had hidden temporarily for fear of his life after learning that DCI officers were looking for him over unspecified criminal allegations, adding that Kinyagia had reached out to a family member from an undisclosed location.
“Ndiangui has indicated that he is ready and willing to present himself to the DCI and to be presented before any court of law when his safety and security are guaranteed. We have therefore advised him to present himself before the High Court at Milimani Law Courts today,” Thuku said at the time.
Kinyagia had been missing after he was forcefully picked up from his house by suspected security officers travelling in Subaru vehicles, according to the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), which cited accounts from his neighbours. LSK said the case bore the hallmarks of an enforced disappearance and a possible unlawful arrest or detention.
The blogger turned up in court in a maroon hooded sweatshirt, a face mask and glasses, with his family breaking down in emotion as they embraced him.
His disappearance had sparked a court order directing police to produce him, amid widespread suspicion that it was linked to a wave of abductions targeting youthful government critics.
The DCI had initially denied holding Kinyagia, with police maintaining they did not know his whereabouts either.
Police later confirmed that Kinyagia was linked to an X account that had posted a viral mock invitation to demonstrations marking the anniversary of the deadly anti-Finance Bill protests.
The mock image, shared on June 19, featured Kenya’s coat of arms and an itinerary that included a march to State House and the swearing-in of a so-called transition council.
“He was a person of interest to us after he published very, very inflammatory material on social media,” DCI boss Mohamed Amin told reporters at the time, saying officers had only searched Kinyagia’s house, taken some of his gadgets and left.
“Ndiangui is not under the custody of the National Police Service… Wherever he is, I would urge that he submits and surrenders himself to the DCI,” the DCI had said, hours after the High Court ordered Inspector-General of Police Douglas Kanja to produce Kinyagia or provide a satisfactory explanation.
Neither the police chief nor the DCI boss appeared in court that Tuesday, though the DCI boss turned up, moments after Kinyagia walked into the courtroom.
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