Four civil rights groups have sued the government, challenging what they term as unlawful arrests, detention and prosecution of peaceful demonstrators.
Midrift Human Rights Network, County Governance Watch (CGW), Foundation for Dialogue (FFD), and Youth, Arts, Development and Entrepreneurship Network (Yaden), have filed a case against the Inspector General of Police, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Attorney General and the Cabinet Secretary for Interior.
Through Lawyer Wambugu Wanjohi, the organisations want the arrests, where alleged peaceful protestors have been charged with terrorism and other charges, to be declared unlawful, null and void.
In the case filed before Judge Lawrence Mugambi, the groups want the court to bar the government, through its security agencies, from making further arrests or prosecuting the protesters. "The court should also suspend all ongoing proceedings before the Kahawa Law Courts or any other court where terrorism charges have been instituted against protestors," reads the petition.
