The drama surrounding the apprehension of activist Rose Njeri has taken a new twist after East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) MP Kanini Kega threatened action if she is not released soon.
Kega, in a statement on Monday, June 2, issued a bold statement on his social media where he defended Njeri, who was taken into police custody on Sunday, May 30, after she developed an online tool designed to facilitate objections to the Finance Bill 2025.
While maintaining that Njeri was no felon, the EALA MP, largely considered a rebel of the Jubilee party, called for her release, hinting that mass action would be taken on Tuesday otherwise.
“Release Rose Njeri Tunguru now unconditionally. She is not a felon. If not, tomorrow we will be there very early in the morning.”
Kega was one of the few political leaders to openly address Njeri's woes, with his remarks coming hours after former DP Rigathi Gachagua accused the Kenya Kwanza government of trying to intimidate the younger generation into silence.
Former Public Service CS Justin Muturi also launched another tirade against the government on Monday, insisting Njeri only exercised her constitutional freedom of expression through her platform.
For Kega, his criticism of the Kenya Kwanza government had interesting undertones, particularly because he was pro-Ruto at the time his parent party, Jubilee, was kicking out so-called traitors.
The former Kieni MP was nominated by the Jubilee party to EALA to represent the Azimio coalition, which was handed four slots in 2022. At the time, Azimio was spearheaded by Raila Odinga, who is now allied with President William Ruto.
Interestingly, in 2022, Gachagua, who was deputising Ruto during the hotly contested presidential elections, appeared to suggest that he and Ruto played a role in helping Kega secure 197 votes to be elected as one of the four EALA MPs from the Azimio camp.
"I spoke to the leaders from the mountain; I told them this Kanini Kega, who was insulting me and President William Ruto, (but) they should just vote for him," Gachagua said at the time.
Since becoming an EALA MP, Kega has consistently been a silent critic of the government. In 2023, he infamously claimed the current administration lied to Kenyans that it would lower the cost of living within one year of being elected into office.
During the interview with Inooro TV, he asked the government to apologise, claiming that telling people the truth is the best course of action since it will prepare them adequately for hard times.
As far as Rose Njeri's case is concerned, her apprehension on Friday meant she would stay in remand for at least three days because of the fact that Monday, June 2, is a public holiday. The activist will likely be arraigned on Tuesday to find out the full scope of charges she is facing.
