Blogger Cyprian Nyakundi has been freed on a Ksh50,000 cash bail. Mr Nyakundi was arrested after Mililimani Chief Magistrate’s Court issued a warrant of arrest.
This is the cheapest cash bail that Cyprian Nyakundi has ever been granted in more 100 times he has been arrested, most cases of which the blogger has triumphed in the court.
In January, blogger Cyprian Nyakundi and his co-accused Emmanuel Ongera were released on a cash bail of Sh 300,000 each. The two were charged over an Sh17.5 million extortion attempt, charges they denied.
The two were accused of attempting to extort Sh17.5 million from Victoria Commercial Bank CEO, Yogesh Pattni so they can pull down alleged libellous articles from Mr Nyakundi’s blog. The two were arrested at Westgate Mall in Nairobi by officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).
Although the prosecution did not oppose the release of the two on bond, the complainant through lawyer Kamau Chege cited the incident where he disobeyed the court orders and went ahead to publish the article.
“The accused is notorious for disobeying court orders. Your honour, whenever we try to serve him it is difficult. Nyakundi is hard to get hold of hence he should be denied bail. We served him with the court order electronically,” Chege argued.
Defence lawyers Cliff Ombeta and Dunstan Omari urged the court to overrule the complaint and release the accused. The case will be mentioned on July.
https://twitter.com/CisNyakundi/status/1252571570717032451?s=20
On 21 April, Tuesday, the warrant of arrest was issued on by a Milimani magistrate and shared in Twitter after Nyakundi failed to present himself in court to plead to charges of publishing false information.
He is accused of publishing fake information on social media, where he alleged that a high-ranking Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) official had died of COVID-19 disease. The post that later on came to pass as the truth even local mainstream media picked up the story.
According to Blogger Cyprian Nyakundi, DCI lied in Court after alleged pressure from KRA officials that are determined to silence him.
https://twitter.com/CisNyakundi/status/1252876994141810690?s=20
The DCI acting on pressure from top KRA officials used perjury to acquire a fictitious warrant of arrest after serving Nyakundi a few minutes before the court session.
https://twitter.com/CisNyakundi/status/1252867971669618688?s=20
Kenya’s top criminal lawyer Cliff Ombeta fired back at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) for quickly jumping into action after a warrant of arrest was issued against controversial blogger Cyprian Nyakundi.
Totally malicious. Courts are closed. https://t.co/oYxfQZbIpc
— COmbeta (@OmbetaC) April 22, 2020
Nyakundi Vs KRA
Nyakundi was apprehended on March 24, 2020 over a post he made on social media on the coronavirus disease and was released on Sh200,000 bond pending plea taking.
DCI detectives from the Nairobi Regional Criminal Investigations Office moved to court on Monday seeking an arrest warrant against Nyakundi for skipping court session.
MISINFORMATION
On Tuesday, the magistrate granted the request and issued an arrest warrant against the blogger.
“The order follows a case of Publication of False Information Contrary to Section 23 of the Computer Misuse and Cyber Crime Act filed against him by a complainant. Mr Nyakundi is hereby ordered to present himself at the said office or at his nearest Police station immediately,” the magistrate said.
Yesterday, Kenyans on twitter expressed their anger in what was seen as a scheme to silence bloggers being planned by DCI and ODPP offices.
Kenyans through the #DCIODPPHandsOffNyakundi hashtag wonder why it is only when Cyprian Nyakundi or any other blogger speaks for that matter, that everything comes to arrests, harassment, curt orders and bail money.
When George Kinoti replaced the corrupt sociopath Ndegwa Muhoro, many people including those he had threatened to kill such as Senior Counsel Ahmednassir Abdullahi were joyous to be rid of an incompetent, bribe-taking, stinking, blood-drinking bureaucrat.
However, two years down the line, despite the best efforts of oversight and independent bodies, the rogue police force, the bane of Kenya reared its ugly head after it emerged that Blogger Cyprian Nyakundi was arrested by detectives who were commandeered by a known drug dealer by the name Nurdin ‘Tinta’ Akasha.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) also without regard for good precedence accepted a flawed file. The case as Kenyanbulletin.com learnt is still dilly-dallying, a seasoned prosecutor even excused herself from it.
