Lawyer Wambui seeks court protection over police plans to grill him
Lawyer Wambui seeks court protection over police plans to grill him
Human rights advocate and lawyer, Shadrack Wambui, moved to the High Court seeking anticipatory bail, claiming that he is facing imminent arrest by state security agencies acting on political instructions.
In an urgent application filed through his lawyer, Danstan Omari, Wambui alleges that the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) are part of a larger scheme aimed at intimidating and silencing him over his civic activism, particularly his role in a peaceful protest held on June 25, in Ongata Rongai, Kajiado North Constituency.
According to court documents, Wambui believes that his intended arrest is politically motivated and timed to occur on a Friday, a tactic commonly referred to as “Kamata Kamata Friday”, which often results in suspects being held in custody over the weekend to punish and silence them extrajudicially
“The Applicant harbors well-grounded apprehension, based on credible information and prevailing political realities, that the real intent is to orchestrate his arrest, particularly on a Friday, as part of the notorious and discredited practice infamously known as “Kamata Kamata Fridays” — a relic of authoritarian regimes where dissenters would be arrested late on Fridays and detained over the weekend to silence and punish them extrajudicially,” read the court documents.
Wambui, who is also the chairperson of Sheria Mtaani na Shadrack Wambui, argues that the planned arrest is as a result of his “lawful and constitutionally protected civic activism”.
The application further claimed that the demonstration on June 25 began peacefully but was violently disrupted by hired goons allegedly working at the direction of unnamed political quarters
Wambui alleged he narrowly escaped harm during the chaos and later withdrew for his safety.
Shortly after the protest, a Member of Parliament is said to have issued a public statement insinuating that the financier of the unrest hailed from Mathare, a reference Wambui believes was clearly directed at him, given his well-known ties to the area.
“It is equally a matter of public notoriety that the said Member of Parliament has, on multiple occasions, openly threatened to crush demonstrations within his constituency, often warning of dire consequences for protestors,” alleged Omari.
“All peaceful protests organized within Kajiado North in recent years have been disrupted by suspiciously well-organized and coordinated gangs, invariably
aligned with vested political interests.”
The lawyer contended that the DCI’s summons for Wambui to appear for questioning is a cover for an intended politically instigated arrest.
Wambui maintains that while he respects the rule of law and is prepared to cooperate with any lawful investigations, he is opposed to the misuse of state apparatus to persecute individuals engaged in constitutionally protected activities.
He now sought urgent intervention from the court to bar the DCI and DPP from arresting, detaining, harassing, or otherwise interfering with his liberty in relation to the demonstration or any claims arising from it.
In the application, Wambui also asks the court to issue ex parte anticipatory bail orders.
“That pending the hearing and determination of this Application inter partes, this Honourable Court be pleased to issue ex parte orders restraining the 1st and 2ndRespondents, their servants, agents, officers, or any other law enforcement agency under their command or direction, from arresting, harassing, intimidating, or in any manner whatsoever interfering with the Applicant’s personal liberty in connection with the peaceful demonstration convened in Ongata Rongai, Kajiado North Constituency on 25th June 2025, or any allegations arising therefrom,” read the court documents.