Police in Mombasa yesterday failed to charge four human rights activists who were arrested during Tuesday’s street protest over the death of teacher and blogger Albert Ojwang.
Francis Auma of Muhuri, Walid Said of Haki Africa, Mugambi Gichunge of Social Justice Centre, and Batuli Swaleh of One Clear Mission, were arrested in Mombasa town during the aborted protest.
The protest was to start at Mapembeni on Moi Avenue and proceed through Nyerere Avenue, Pandya Road and the Urban police roundabout, ending at the Uhuru na Kazi building, which houses the coast regional coordinator, the Mombasa county commissioner and other key government offices.
However, heavily armed police officers were deployed across strategic points on Moi Avenue, Mapembeni, Nyerere Avenue, Digo Road and Nkurumah Road to block the protesters.
The group then attempted to march to Central police station to seek audience with the OCS, but anti-riot police officers blocked them with trucks along Nkurumah Road.
They then rerouted to Digo Road, but were again intercepted by police.
A scuffle ensued, leading to the arrest of the protest leaders, who spent the whole day at Central police station.
Later that evening, Auma, Said and Gichunge were released on Sh5,000 cash bail each, while Batuli Swaleh was released on Sh15,000, following a scuffle with a female police officer during her arrest.
The activists were expected to be charged on Wednesday morning at the Mombasa Magistrate’s Court.
However, by 11:30 am, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions said no decision had been made regarding the charges.
Lawyer Yusuf Abubakar, who is representing the four, raised the matter before Mombasa Senior Resident Magistrate Gladys Olimo, saying his clients had reported to court as directed by police.
“We attended court this morning pursuant to the bond issued by Central Police Station for the four human rights defenders, who were to be charged with participating in an unlawful assembly. But as of now, the prosecution says they are yet to receive the file,” he said.
State Counsel Judy Ogada said the ODPP had not received any documents from the police.
“We are waiting for the file to be sent to our office. As of this morning, we had not received it and therefore no decision to charge has been made,” she said.
Abubakar criticised the delay, accusing the police of failing to follow proper procedure.
“Failure to present these documents to the ODPP is a violation of the National Police Service Act. We will go to Central Police Station and demand clarity on whether my clients are being charged or not,” he said.
“Whether they are charged or not, their arrest and detention is already a violation of their rights. We will escalate this matter with the Independent Policing Oversight Authority. What we are witnessing is an abuse of police power.”
Abubakar also claimed there were political motivations behind the arrests.
“There’s clear political interference. These activists were part of a protest over the death of Albert Ojwang in a police station, the same way Kenyans protested last year on June 25 against the Finance Bill. This appears to be part of a larger effort to muzzle the dissenting voices.”
Muhuri board member Khelef Khalifa accused the police of acting under external influence.
“At Central police station, the OCS said he couldn’t release the activists due to orders from ‘somewhere else.’ The police are supposed to follow the law, not orders from politicians or the government," he said.
Khalifa said they are considering legal action against the Central police station OCS.
“We are exploring legal options for violating constitutional rights. Authorities must be held accountable to safeguard our right to protest,” he said.
He said the planned June 25 protest will proceed as scheduled.
“We will send a new notification to the police. In fact, we now have even more reason to hold this protest because we were denied our right to do so. On June 25, we will again express our position on what is happening in Kenya,” he said.
