Manyatta Member of Parliament John Gitonga Mukunji, Inooro TV journalist James Ikuwa Mbochi, and boda boda rider Stanley Mbuthia Wanjiru have moved to court seeking to block what they term as politically motivated attempts to charge them with terrorism-related offences linked to the recent Gen Z protests.
In a petition filed at the High Court, the three accuse the Inspector General of Police, the Director of Criminal Investigations, and the Director of Public Prosecutions of orchestrating a campaign of intimidation, illegal detention, and malicious prosecution under the guise of enforcing the Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2012.
Mukunji, who is also the Chairperson of the Kenya Young Parliamentarians Association, states that despite being elected under the ruling UDA party, he has been vocal in criticizing the government, an act he believes has placed him in the crosshairs of the current regime.
According to the petition, Mukunji on July 7 offered a lift to journalist Mbochi along the Thika Superhighway due to disrupted transport services during the Saba Saba protests.
The two were allegedly intercepted and arrested at the Toll area in Juja by a contingent of over 40 police officers and taken to Kibii Police Station.
Wanjiru, who had followed them to the station out of concern, was also arrested.
The petition alleges that Mukunji’s phones and iPad were confiscated, and police officers demanded access to his private data, including a master’s thesis he was due to defend days later.
Attempts by his family and legal counsel to trace him were initially met with denials, until he reportedly shouted through a cell vent to alert his relatives of his location.
The three were later transferred to Muthaiga Police Station and presented before Kahawa Law Courts under Misc. Application No. E338/2025, where the prosecution sought to detain them for 14 days while investigating alleged links to terrorism.
The court, however, declined the request and granted them bail, citing lack of compelling reasons.
In their suit, the petitioners argue that the state’s actions amount to the weaponization of anti-terror laws to suppress dissent.
They claimed their arrest and detention were unlawful and in violation of several constitutional rights, including the rights to liberty, privacy, free expression, fair administrative action, and protection from discrimination based on political opinion.
“That the Petitioners face imminent charges under the Prevention of Terrorism Act which was specifically enacted to combat actual terrorism and has been used to prosecute perpetrators of the Westgate Mall attack and the Dusit Hotel Attack among other attacks,” read the court documents.
“The preamble of the Act describes it as An Act of Parliament to provide measures for the detection and prevention of terrorist activities.”
The petitioners raised alarm over a growing pattern in which individuals arrested in connection with Gen Z protests are being linked to terrorism, citing similar charges filed against protestors like Peter Kinyanjui Wanjiru, who was dramatically re-arrested at Ruiru Law Courts even after being released on bond.
They wanted the court to declare their arrest and prosecution unconstitutional.
They also want the court to prohibit further harassment or detention, and damages for violations of their constitutional rights.
They further want the court to bar the use of Kahawa Law Courts, a specialized anti-terror court, for protest-related cases, terming it an act of forum shopping meant to intimidate them.
“A declaration that the arraignment of protest-related suspects at Kahawa Law Courts, a specialized court, rather than the ordinary courts of jurisdiction, constitutes forum shopping and violates due process,” read the court documents.
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