LSK President Faith Odhiambo’s chief of staff Ernest Nyerere arrested

Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President Faith Odhiambo’s chief of staff Ernest Nyerere has been arrested under unclear circumstances.

Nyerere was picked up from his house at 5 a.m. on Tuesday by people believed to be police officers, Odhiambo told journalists.

His arrest adds him to the growing list of Kenyans captured and held captive in undisclosed locations in what is seen to be a government suppression of the ongoing anti-Finance Bill 2024 protests, now in their second week.

In the wee hours of Tuesday, popular social commentator Gabriel Oguda was allegedly abducted by suspected police officers from his house.

The others are John Frank Githaiga alias Frenje, Drey Mwangi, Khalif Kairo and Osama Otero, who were also reportedly captured overnight.

Odhiambo said they were following up on the whereabouts of these Kenyans, as well as Shadrack Kiprono, alias Shad. Kiprono was vocal in last week's demos and was abducted on Saturday night in Nairobi’s South B area.

LSK in a statement on Tuesday morning condemned the abductions as a return to darkness, with Odhiambo vowing that the lawyers' body will bring those orchestrating the abductions to book.

"Over the last 72 hours, Kenya has been drawn back to the dark era of a rogue, irrational police force operating through repressive, retrogressive, clandestine, illegal, extra-judicial tactics to forcefully quell public dissent against misgivings of government, lapses in governance and more specifically, the contentious Finance Bill 2024," Odhiambo said.

"We will unmask and take action against these rogue criminal elements putting our police in ruin."

The LSK president has been at the forefront of securing the release of protesters arrested over the anti-Finance Bill demonstrations.

Some of those released last weekend after a public uproar are Dr Austin Omondi, alias Ja Prado, who was set free on Sunday night.

Omondi was running a blood donation drive for injured protesters at Sikh Union along Nairobi’s Forest Road and is said to have been captured by individuals in a vehicle bearing the registration number KCU 819H.

Prominent X user Billy Simani, alias Crazy Nairobian, was on Saturday evening released from police custody following his arrest on Friday.

A nationwide strike dubbed #TotalShutdownKE on Tuesday kicked off in Nairobi's central business district and other towns such as Nakuru, Mombasa and Eldoret, as youth continue to pressure parliamentarians to shoot down the bill.

The proposed law passed its Second Reading in the House last Tuesday after 204 MPs voted yes to the bill while 115 voted no. It enters the Committee Stage this week.