Prosecution opposes release of Nyeri blogger accused of insulting governor’s brother

Nyeri blogger Martha Wanjiru Miano appears at the Nyeri Law Courts on March 2, 2016. She is accused of posting abusive information on Nyeri Governor Nderitu Gachagua's brother Rigathi Gachagua. PHOTO | JOSEPH KANYI | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • State counsel Rebecca Mayeku told Resident Magistrate John Aringo that Ms Martha Wanjiru Miano had shown that she was likely to jeopardise police investigations.
  • Mr Mwangi said the prosecution had not demonstrated any exceptional reasons to allow further detention of Ms Miano. The lawyers are demanding that she be released immediately.
  • Ms Amwatok said she had only recorded Mr Rigathi Gachagua's statement and was yet to take statements from two other witnesses, one of whom is travelling abroad and is expected to be back in Nyeri in two weeks.

The prosecution on Wednesday opposed the release of a 25-year-old blogger accused of insulting Governor Nderitu Gachagua’s brother on her Facebook page.

State counsel Rebecca Mayeku told Resident Magistrate John Aringo that Ms Martha Wanjiru Miano had shown that she was likely to jeopardise police investigations.

The blogger’s lawyers, led by Kiharu MP Irungu Kangata, Muthui Kimani and Gichuhi Mwangi, fought the prosecution’s plea.

They argued that detaining Ms Miano is against the rights and fundamental freedom provided by the law.

“The investigating officer arrested the suspect without completing her investigations, she has not yet received the report from the cybercrime unit which would disclose if the suspect has done any crime, and again so far she has only recorded a statement of one person,” said Mr Kangata.

Mr Kangata also said that when Ms Miano was taken to court, the investigating officer bypassed the office of the prosecution and went straight to the magistrate's chambers, where she obtained the orders.

Mr Mwangi said the prosecution has not demonstrated any exceptional reasons to allow further detention of Ms Miano. The lawyers are demanding that she be released from police custody immediately.

Resident Magistrate John Aringo is expected to rule on the matter at 2pm.

Ms Miano was arrested on Monday at the Karatina CDF offices, where she works for Mathira MP Peter Weru, and is alleged to have posted the messages insulting Mr Rigathi Gachagua and county government officials

The investigating officer, Ms Maximilla Amwatok, testified in court on Wednesday that she arrested Ms Miano and brought her to court on Monday because there was word going round that she was planning to escape.

“Even when I went to arrest her, she wanted to escape through the back door and she wanted to [draw] the attention of the public,” said Ms Amwatok.

She said that because the case has political dimensions, she had been receiving calls from several people while others had been visiting her office demanding that she release Ms Miano though she is holding her with a court order.

“This case is political because when I arrested her at the CDF officers in Karatina, the people she requested to accompany her are politicians, even when I was recording her statement, she said she knew she will be arrested because of political reasons,” Ms Amwatok told the court.

Ms Amwatok said she had only recorded Mr Rigathi Gachagua's statement and was yet to take statements from two other witnesses, one of whom had travelled abroad and is expected to be back in Nyeri in two weeks.

She, however, denied that the witness who had travelled abroad is Governor Nderitu Gachagua.