High Court extends orders blocking arrest of former CS Fred Matiang’i

The High Court in Nairobi has extended orders stopping the police from harassing or arresting embattled former Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr. Fred Matiang’i.

The matter was mentioned on Thursday before Justice Justus Bwonwong’a who extended the anticipatory bail granted by Justice Kanyi Kimondo on February 9, 2023.

The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) also informed the court that it has filed a preliminary objection as well as an application seeking to be removed from the proceedings.

Through its lawyer, IPOA said that it doesn't deal with matters of civilians and therefore it was wrongly named in the case as respondents.

Justice Kimondo previously granted the anticipatory bail after Dr. Matiang'i moved to court claiming that he was under imminent threat of arrest by the police hence was justifiably apprehensive that his constitutional rights were being violated.

In granting the orders, the court said that the police are at liberty to investigate Matiang'i on any criminal conduct but will not arrest him following the anticipatory bail.

Matiang'i, through his lawyers, claimed that he received credible information from officers of the Kenya Police that they are under express instructions to arbitrarily capture and arrest him with a view of arraigning him in court for ulterior political motives.

“The powers of arrest by the respondents and the Kenya Police are being abused and misused to harass, intimidate and oppress the applicant and his former Cabinet colleagues and the former president; and to achieve extraneous political purposes unconnected with upholding the law,” read court documents.

Matiang’i thus urged the court to issue a conservatory order restraining the respondents, their servants, agents, junior officers and/ or anybody from effecting and/or anybody from arresting, charging, harassing or otherwise however interfering with him.

He claimed that on February 9, 2023, his home was raided, surrounded and cordoned off by police officers who were seeking to arrest him.