The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has swooped in on 24 suspects in connection with the torching of the Kikuyu Law Courts, Kikuyu Sub-County offices and other government facilities.
In a statement released on Friday, June 27, DCI revealed the arrests were made after the chaos witnessed during the June 25 protests.
Besides setting the court ablaze, the suspects were also linked with the destruction of other valuable property such as vehicles, tractors and tuktuks.
According to the DCI report, the suspects were arraigned before the Chief Magistrate’s Court at the Ruiru Law Courts, where the sleuths were able to obtain a 14-day custodial order to complete their investigations.
During the protests, suspected goons broke into the Kikuyu Law Courts and set it on fire, in addition to completely vandalising the judicial facility. The goons also descended upon the Deputy County Commissioner’s (DCC) office, which was also set on fire.
The protesters also broke into some of the offices, which were fortunately spared by the fire, and caused mayhem by smashing windows and destroying documents and furniture.
Some police officers at the scene were seen rushing with buckets of soil and water, desperately throwing them into the buildings to put out the fire.
The aftermath of the blaze resulted in the complete closure of the court to facilitate investigations as well as renovations.
Notably, the arrests came immediately after President William Ruto had explicitly ordered Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja and the DCI to immediately arrest persons suspected to the acts of hooliganism witnessed during the Wednesday protests.
Ruto further condemned the protests, describing them as a well-calculated move to cause anarchy and destroy the country.
The President issued the firm directive while speaking during the World MSME Day in Nairobi, said what transpired on Wednesday was not protests, but hooliganism disguised as peaceful processions.
Chief Justice Martha Koome, during a visit to the destroyed court, condemned the incident, terming it an attack on the Constitution.
Koome, who was speaking on Thursday, June 26, stated that the incidents would severely compromise the Judiciary's ability to deliver justice, disrupt the administration of justice for ordinary Kenyans, and undermine ongoing efforts to expand access to justice, particularly for the marginalised and vulnerable.
“Courts are sacred spaces in a constitutional democracy, as they are the neutral grounds where disputes are resolved and rights upheld,” CJ Koome stated.
During the inspection, Judiciary officials also disclosed that servers and registry boxes were destroyed by arsonists.
Aside from the Kikuyu Law Courts, the newly established Dagoretti Law Courts were also vandalised, and the old Ol Kalou Law Courts building, which is used for the storage of exhibits, was also broken into and damaged.
Meanwhile, the sleuths from the DCI disclosed that two steel windows, a steel door, and a water tank, all stolen from the County Government's physical planning offices during the protests, were recovered in a bush in the Mai-ii-hii and Kabete areas.
