The Director of Digital Communication in the Office of the President has confirmed why blogger Cyprian Nyakundi was arrested on Tuesday and held without being arraigned in court.
According to Dennis Itumbi, the controversial blogger was detained by officers after tweeting about a construction company that was linked to Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho.
“Mombasa Governor Hassan Ali Joho is the key complainant in the case. Cyprian Nyakundi tweeted about a construction company and that is the basis of complaint,” he said on his Twitter timeline.
The State House official also cleared the air as to why Nyakundi had not been arraigned in court despite being in custody since Tuesday evening.
Itumbi explained that the investigator handling the case applied for 10 days in order to continue with the probe against the blogger but the court only allowed for three days.
During the application, lawyers representing Nyakundi arrived late and were instead told to apply for mention and bail on Thursday.
The former political blogger also confirmed that Nyakundi's case was not criminal but rather a defamation one adding that he would always protect Cyprian in saying whatever he wished.
16. If you are so annoyed by tweets or updates Sue for defamation do not criminalize blogging #FreeNyakundi
— Dennis Itumbi (@OleItumbi) January 20, 2016
15. Freedom of press involves the freedom to make mistakes, apologize and delete if you get it wrong. Sometimes you will #FreeNyakundi
— Dennis Itumbi (@OleItumbi) January 20, 2016
9. Criticism even when wrong should be faced, corrected or filed at the Civil registry NOT Criminal #FreeNyakundi
— Dennis Itumbi (@OleItumbi) January 20, 2016
11. I may not agree with @C_NyaKundiH on many issues, but I will always protect his right to say what he wants to say #FREENYAKUNDI
— Dennis Itumbi (@OleItumbi) January 20, 2016
