Kitui journalist freed on bail after ODPP rejects charges linked to graft exposé

Kitui journalist Emmanuel Maleve who was freed on Friday on Sh50,000 police cash bail after the ODPP declined to charge him. (Photo: Courtesy)

By Joseph Ndunda
Saturday, May 3, 2025

Maleve was arrested by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations for publishing a news story exposing alleged corruption involving Kitui South MP Rachel Nyamai.

Kitui journalist Emmanuel Maleve was on Friday released on a police cash bail of Sh50,000 after the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) rejected charges against him.

Maleve was arrested by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) for publishing a news story exposing alleged corruption involving Kitui South MP Rachel Nyamai.

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Maleve had been taken to the Milimani Law Courts where the DCI wanted to charge him, but the ODPP declined to prefer charges over what lawyer Evans Ondieki termed as an evidential deficit.

One of his lawyers, Noel Musya, confirmed that the journalist had been released from police custody.

The DCI had taken Maleve to court to face charges of publishing false information, contrary to Section 23 of Computer Misuse and Cybercrime Act of 2018.

Lawyer Musya said the DCI had not briefed them on the nature of the charges or the investigations they wanted to carry out against Maleve.

However, his colleague, Ondieki, said he had been made aware that the nature of investigations surrounded a news story that Maleve published on his news website, naming Nyamai in corruption allegations.

Musya said he had been told by the DCI to wait for Maleve at the Muthaiga Police Station where he would be taken after grilling at the DCI headquarters on Kiambu Road.

“We are pursuing a cash bail for him so that he remains free, but we know they (DCI) are going to retain his mobile phones,” stated Musya.

Ondieki said they are pursuing justice for the journalist, adding that the freedom of the media is protected by the Constitution of Kenya and no one should be intimidated on account of what they have published. He accused the Kitui South MP of influencing Maleve’s arrest.

Leaders from Kitui, including former governor Charity Ngilu, condemned the arrest of the journalist.

“I have received disheartening reports of the shameful arrest of blogger Emmanuel Maleve in Kitui town. Surely, the days when politicians could threaten, intimidate and even try to gag people from their democratic right of expression, association and movement are long gone,” stated Ngilu.

“Let Emmanuel be released immediately and unconditionally. Politicians should refrain from using their offices to muzzle people’s democratic rights and space. Kenya is a free nation and we have come a long way to be taken back to the dark days,” she added.

Ondieki said the complaint that led to the arrest was lodged by Nyamai and told her to understand that freedom of the media cannot be muzzled using political power.