United Progress Party officials Tuesday urged for the unconditional release of Manyatta MP Patrick Mukunji who was arrested during Saba Saba demonstrations Monday.
Party chair Nyambega Gisesa said they were especially concerned by the opaqueness by the security agencies to disclose his whereabouts by Tuesday morning.
Mukunji was apprehended by detectives at Mangu area and locked up at Kibii Police before being transferred to another undisclosed station.
By Monday evening his attorney and supporters said they were still in the dark about the legislator’s whereabouts.
Advocate Ndegwa Njiru said the arrest took place at around 3:00 p.m. and booked at Kibii Police Station at 3:53 p.m. He was later picked up by officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) based at Juja Police Station.
In a press statement earlier Tuesday, UPA officials said they were distressed by the detention terming it politically motivated and meant to intimidate vocal leaders championing the rights of ordinary citizens.
“We are further alarmed by reports of police withholding critical information from his spouse and lawyer about his whereabouts.”
“This lack of of transparency and apparent disregard for legal rights is an unacceptable in a democratic society,” stated party chief Gisesa in a statement to journalists.
The party now wants the MP to be released unconditionally.
“We demand his immediate release and full disclosure of his whereabouts. We further demand an end to attempts to suppress his rights,” the party stated.
Gisesa also commiserated with families that lost their loved ones during the chaotic riots that characterized Saba Saba.
“These young Kenyans exercising their constitutional rights to peaceful protests have lost their lives in a manner that demands urgent answers.”
“We condemn the use of excessive force on an unarmed demonstrators and as a party we stand with the families and their loved ones who are trying to come to terms with these sudden deaths,” said Gisesa.
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