Allies of Deputy President William Ruto want Parliament to change criminal laws to prevent police and DCI personnel from detaining suspects on Fridays.
They claim the arrests, dubbed Kamata Kamata Fridays, are abuses of human rights and return the country to a time when suspects were arrested and jailed without charge.
The call comes after the DP’s men protested when their comrades were arrested on Fridays and forced to stay in police detention until Monday.
“We should come up with a legal framework that stops Friday arrests, unless you are being arrested for an offense you committed that particular day and there is the possibility that you will be committing more offenses if you are left until Monday,” Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen said.
Rigathi Gachagua, a close ally of the DP and Mathira MP, was arrested at his Nyeri house on a Friday last month and held in police cells till Monday.
Last weekend, Turkish national Harun Aydin, a business associate of Ruto’s, was arrested by anti-terrorist police officials and held for two days before being deported.
Murkomen was reacting to a ‘suspicious’ plea filed by a citizen seeking to deny bail to graft and other criminal suspects.
Taratisio Ireri Kawe, in a petition submitted in the House, asked Parliament to alter the Constitution and applicable laws to allow suspects to be imprisoned until their cases are resolved.
*This article was written by Caleb Mwikya for Uzalendo News. Email: uzalendonews@gmail.com to submit your story.
