Two suspects who were arrested in connection with the Wednesday, June 25th protests have been released on a personal bond of Ksh.50,000 each.
This is after the Milimani Law Courts declined a request by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to hold them for further probe.
Suleiman Wanjau Bilali and Robert Otiti Elwak appeared before Magistrate Dolphina Alego under a miscellaneous application in which the DCI sought to detain them for an additional 10 days to facilitate investigations.
The suspects were accused of publishing false and inciteful information allegedly aimed at mobilizing protesters to unlawfully occupy State House. According to the prosecution, their arrest followed the viral circulation of a protest timetable shared from an X (formerly Twitter) account identified as @daguindd (Daguin Dd), which allegedly fueled mass demonstrations across Nairobi and other parts of the country.
In an affidavit filed by Sergeant Samuel Itegi from the DCI Operations Division, the two were apprehended on June 25, 2025—Bilali in Muthurwa and Elwak in Kayole. The arrests were booked at Capitol Hill Police Station under OB number 10/20/06/2025.
The DCI claimed that Bilali and Elwak were part of a broader, well-resourced network accused of hijacking peaceful youth-led demonstrations to sow chaos, attack police, and threaten state security. The affidavit cited the looting of property, injuries to police officers, and loss of lives that occurred during the nationwide protests.
Investigators sought more time to examine seized phones, access the suspects’ financial records, and gather witness statements.
However, the court declined the request.
Magistrate Alego, in a ruling that emphasized constitutional safeguards, underscored the importance of due process.
“Access to justice must be protected at all times,” she said. “The Constitution is clear on the rights of arrested persons, including the requirement to present them in court within 24 hours and not to detain them arbitrarily.”
She further noted that public interest litigation and peaceful protest are essential components of a functioning democracy, warning against the misuse of prosecutorial powers to stifle civic expression.
The court also cited preliminary findings indicating that the mobile phones recovered by the police did not belong to the suspects, further weakening the justification for their prolonged detention.
