Naivasha MP Jayne Kihara speaks to the media during her arrest on July 17, 2025./SCREENGRAB
Naivasha Member of Parliament Jayne Kihara was arrested on Thursday afternoon from her home in the town.
In a dramatic event livestreamed on her Facebook account, dozens of officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), backed by local police, raided her Maraigushu home in Naivasha.
She was later driven to Naivasha Police Station, where she was briefly booked. Police said the MP was expected to be transported to DCI headquarters on Kiambu Road in Nairobi for further interrogation.
Kihara protested her arrest, saying she could not assist police in investigating a matter she knew nothing about.
“They say they believe I have information that can help them. I can’t do that,” she said.
“Dozens of police officers are currently at my Maraigushu home to arrest me,” she wrote on Facebook.
The arrest came shortly after she had held a meeting with sand harvesters from Mai Mahiu.
It also follows her failure to honour DCI summons over remarks she allegedly made that were deemed to undermine the authority of an unnamed public officer.
In a notice signed by senior DCI officer George Lenny Kisaka, the DCI directed Kihara to appear at its headquarters on Monday, July 14, at 10:30 a.m.
“I hereby compel you, Hon. Jayne Njeri Wanjiku Kihara, MP for Naivasha Constituency… to appear before me… without fail,” read the notice shared by the MP on Sunday.
“Failure to comply with the requisition constitutes an offence liable to prosecution.”
The summons were issued on Friday following a probe into the alleged dissemination of “inciteful or disruptive content” on her social media.
In response, Kihara wrote on Facebook: “The days of intimidating leaders using the criminal justice system are long gone.
Summoning me to DCI headquarters tomorrow will not change Kenyans’ resolve, because this is not about Jayne Kihara but about our country, Kenya.”
Kihara has previously accused the government of using state security agencies to frustrate allies of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, especially after her security detail was allegedly withdrawn in May.
Following the incident, she lamented that she felt “vulnerable and naked” and warned that any harm that might befall her should be blamed on the Head of State.
Former Vice President and Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka condemned the arrest.
“This is clear political persecution. We will get Naivasha MP Jayne Kihara out!” he declared.
