POLICE REFUSING COURT ORDER TO RELEASE MIGUNA, MOVE HIM TO HOSTILE TERRITORY
Twelve hours after a Court order was issued for the release of NASA NRM’s Miguna Miguna, police are keeping him in custody in Githunguri. This follows upon the government’s refusal to obey yesterday’s court order to revoke the shutting down of Kenya’s principal broadcasters, KTN, Citizen, NTV, and Africa Radio Group’s Bamba network.
“We are seeing the unravelling of the entire edifice of the rule of law now,” said President Raila Amolo Odinga this evening. The earlier government refusal to heed the order to allow the networks to resume broadcasting has been ignored. That, and the intimidation/threat to arrest Kenya Guild and NTV Chief Editor Linus Kaikai and two other TV journalists for criticizing Uhuru’s threat to ban the broadcasters, has been severely criticized by the international media in the last three days.
The order for Miguna’s release was served upon the Inspector General of Police, the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Nairobi Police Commandant at 10 this morning. It looked like he would be released when he was given back his clothing and belongings, but he was then marched back to his cell.
He had been moved, for inexplicable reasons, to a police station in Githunguri, in Kiambu County, which is President Uhuru Kenyatta’s birthplace and stronghold and where there is strong hostility to NASA and its officials like Miguna. He was going to have been released there, at a time when the locals were holding an anti-NASA protest there and burning tyres. Miguna might not have been safe there. This is playing with fire.
ODM MP TJ Kajwang’ was also moved from Nairobi to Ngong Town when he was detained.
The courts have granted anticipatory bail to Linus Kaikai and other threatened journalist colleagues. But given the refusal of the police to obey court orders, the journalists have decided to stay out of harm’s way in seclusion.
Salim Lone, Adviser,
President Raila Odinga
