Victims of the infamous kamata kamata Friday arrests have found a powerful ally in high court Judge George Odunga.
Kamata Fridays, as the practice is popularly known refers to Friday night arrests by the police. The practice is dreaded as those netted face a weekend in a crowded prison cell before they can be brought before a court on Monday morning.
Justice Odunga, in the case Agnes Ngenesi Kinyua aka Agnes Kinywa v Director of Public Prosecution & another [2019] sided with the victims of these arrests expressing his belief that they should not take place.
"The practice that is ominously gaining ground in this country otherwise infamously known as “kamata kamata Friday arrests” whereby suspects are deliberately arrested on Fridays and kept in police custody over the weekend must not be permitted to take root," provided the judge.
Odunga, in justifying his stance provided that the practice chipped away at the democratic gains that the country had made since the promulgation of the Constitution of Kenya 2010.
The practice, he said, would take the country back to the dark ages where people were arrested on a whim without sufficient justification.
"It [the practice of kamata Fridays] would in effect take the country back to the dark days when suspects faced frivolous capital charges aimed at unlawfully incarcerating them with a view to achieving extraneous objectives, thereby unjustifiably denying them of their liberty. The attempt to claw back at non-existent powers ought to be restricted at all costs by the courts which are the temples of justice in this country," stated the judge.
Friday arrests have received strong condemnation across the country over the years. In 2018, for instance, MPs strongly condemned police for arresting citizens on Fridays and Public holidays.
The agitated members of parliament went as far as tabling a motion on the floor of the house arguing that they had been victims of the infamous kamata Fridays.
They were stirred into action after citing that many of their own had been locked up on Friday, denied bail and forced to spend the weekend there.
Under Article 49 (1)(f) of the constitution, an arrested person should be brought before the court as soon as reasonably possible which is within 24 hours of being arrested. However, if the arrest is outside normal court hours, as is the case with Friday arrests, they should be brought to court by the end of the next court day.
Article 49 (1)(h), however, offers a respite to those who would rather not pass the weekend behind bars, providing that those arrested can be released on bond or bail pending a charge or trial.
