19 people arrested for trespassing on President William Ruto's farm in Naivasha were arraigned at the Milimani Law Courts in Nairobi on Tuesday, March 5, 2024.
The accused, including one woman, will spend the night at the Lang'ata police station, awaiting the court's decision.
The 19 were accused of destroying the farm’s barbed fence on February 29, 2024, damaging the property valued at Ksh2.2 million.
Police officers investigating the case recommended that the suspects be detained for 14 days as the police launched investigations to gather facts surrounding the incident.
"There has been a lot of public outrage with some members of the public trying to storm the police station at Naivasha Sub County to rescue the respondents and consequently remove them from safe custody and avert the due process of the law," investigating officer John Kinyongie’s affidavit reads in part.
The respondents’ lawyer Mbugua Muriithi has accused the police of using land grabbers and politicians to punish innocent Kenyans, adding that the 19 arraigned were innocent of the charges.
Mbugua further challenged the court and the investigating officers to arraign the suspects in a Nakuru court, as per the jurisdiction, instead of opting for Milimani Law Courts.
“The 19 were arrested in Naivasha, I don’t see why they can’t be detained at Naivasha police station,” Mbugua argued
“They have no relatives in Nairobi. Detaining them in Nairobi will essentially render them IDPs,” he added.
Nairobi Magistrate Gilbert Shikwe ordered the 19 to be held at the Lang’ata police station until Wednesday when he will issue orders moving forward.
In a similar incident in March last year, unknown people stormed former President Uhuru Kenyatta's Northlands farm in Ruiru and made away with over 1,400 Dorper sheep valued at Ksh70 million.
The attackers seized the opportunity to make quick cash by selling the sheep for as little as Ksh1,000 to passersby. One sheep is however valued at approximately Ksh 50,000 depending on the breed.
