On 14 May 1996, Njehu Gatabaki, chief editor of the Kenyan independent monthly magazine “Finance,” and a Member of Parliament, was arrested by at least 20 police officers at the roadside near his house in the Lavington district of Nairobi. He was released on bail on 22 May, without charge. Police had issued a warrant […]
On 14 May 1996, Njehu Gatabaki, chief editor of the Kenyan
independent monthly magazine “Finance,” and a Member of
Parliament, was arrested by at least 20 police officers at the
roadside near his house in the Lavington district of Nairobi. He
was released on bail on 22 May, without charge.
Police had issued a warrant for Gatabaki’s arrest on 10 May for
his failure to appear in court for a sedition case that began in
1995. (Gatabaki stated he was unable to attend because he was
suffering from hypertension at the time and had been ordered by
his doctor to rest.) He was taken to the headquarters of the
Criminal Investigations Department (CID), then to Parklands
police station, where he made a statement denying police
accusations that he was involved in the murder of police
superintendent Bernard Kahumbi, who was murdered in May 1995
shortly after he failed to arrest Gatabaki, who had by that time
gone into hiding for sedition.
Gatabaki was due to appear in court in Nairobi on 10 June for the
sedition case, but was admitted to hospital on 9 June due to
severe hypertension. His lawyers applied for an adjournment,
which was granted for 24 June. The chief magistrate, Uniter
Kidullah, also ordered the lawyers to present a medical report to
the court on that date. Gatabaki himself is currently in stable
condition.
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