DCI orders release of journalist Collins Kweyu from Central Police Station
He told colleagues he was investigating claims that the magistrate in question had received a bribe to rule in favour of one of the parties in a case in the county.
The Director of Criminal Investigations, Amin Mohamed, this evening ordered the immediate release of Standard journalist Collins Kweyu from Central Police Station.
Kweyu had been arrested earlier on Friday and detained at the station in Nairobi while following up on a graft story involving a magistrate based in Migori.
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He told colleagues he was investigating claims that the magistrate in question had received a bribe to rule in favour of one of the parties in a case in the county.
However, officers at Central Police Station claimed the arrest order had originated from detectives in Migori, who are probing an alleged cybercrime involving Kweyu and two others.
They further stated they could not grant him bail since the arrest originated from Migori, where the complainant is based and where detectives intend to transfer him.
The arrest was condemned by the Kenya Union of Journalists and Crime Journalists Association of Kenya (CJAK) who in separate statements termed it part of continued harassment of journalists in the country.
"We wish to state clearly: using state machinery to silence a journalist investigating possible corruption within the judiciary is an attack not only on press freedom but on the very rule of law itself. Arresting him on a Friday evening to ensure prolonged detention until Monday only deepens the suspicion of bad faith," CJAK said.
The association added that the arrest reflects a troubling pattern of harassment against journalists in Kenya.
"While we respect the right of every citizen to seek redress through lawful channels, we are deeply concerned by the manner and timing of Kweyu's arrest, and the court orders issued to search his house and computer equipment this we see as an attempt by the police to establish Kweyu's source," added the statement signed by CJAK, Secretary General Brian Obuya.
On its part, Amnesty International called for his safety in custody urging that he be accorded the full rights of a suspect in detention.
Kweyu maintains he was deceived into the arrest after being invited for a meeting at a restaurant in Nairobi, only to be confronted and whisked away by police officers without being informed of the charges against him.
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