Over 299 people arrested in a crackdown on supporters of former Mungiki leader Maina Njenga at the Kabiru-ini grounds in Nyeri County on Sunday have been released on Ksh.10,000 bond each.
The defendants were released soon after the leader accused the government of harassing and arresting them.
As they appeared in a Nyeri open court, the accused sang solidarity songs and chanted liberation chants; one pleaded not guilty to the charge given to them, and the court released all of them.
Lawyer Ndegwa Njiru defended the defendants, telling the court that they were the victims of a political witch-hunt sponsored by a major political leader in the Mount Kenya region.
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"We are here to say that young Kikuyu men cannot be criminalized." Those detained were never arrested in Kibiru-ini, but on the streets of Nyeri, and we want the court to tell us, "What is wrong with being a Kikuyu young man?" He made a pose.
The accused were apprehended in Nyeri town on Sunday after Nyeri County Commissioner Pius Murugu banned a planned protest attended by a part of Mt. Kenya leaders because it was illegal.
Former Mungiki leader Maina Njenga denounced the government for persecuting and arresting innocent Kikuyu youngsters and announced that the meeting had been canceled.
"When did jobless, hopeless, and disgruntled hustlers turn into Mungiki?" Asante mateke, kweli asante. "Let the current regime stop, cease, and desist from criminalising innocent Kikuyu youth, and instead focus on addressing the underlying problem of skyrocketing living costs," he urged.
The lawsuit was scheduled for hearings on January 16 and 18, 2024.
In Murang'a, police arrested 23 persons after discovering knives and other things suspected to have been used in rituals at the Mukurwe-wa Nyagathanga shrine.
