Activist Morara Kebaso arrested in a raid at his office

Government critic and anti-corruption crusader Morara Kebaso was arrested on Monday afternoon at his Kahawa Sukari offices in Nairobi by persons suspected to be police officers.

Hussein Khalid, founder of Vocal Africa and a prominent activist, confirmed reports that a lawyer-turned-activist had been arrested.

“Morara Kebaso has been abducted from his headquarters in Kahawa. We are presently heading to the Nairobi Area (police), where we suspect he has been taken,” said Khalid.

Reports surfaced indicating that his lawyers, who were hastily trailing a police vehicle en route to the Nairobi Regional Headquarters, were denied access to the facility.

"They have restricted access and have strict instructions from the top not to allow any person to access Morara, including lawyers, media personnel, and any other persons," the lawyer told the press.

Kebaso has been leveraging social media to highlight government inefficiencies by visiting stalled projects. On Monday, he expressed his anger in a post regarding a coast-based blogger who was reportedly sodomised following alleged criticism of Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Nassir.

“The sodomy of the blogger in Mombasa is an attack on the freedom of expression. It is dangerous to all people who criticise bad governance and corruption. WE CANNOT LET IT SLIDE. Let's prepare to dirty the streets. The mother of all demonstrations is loading. This time round we will combine it with Adani and SHIF,” wrote Kebaso on his X account.

Police have not, however, revealed the cause of his arrest.

Amnesty International released a statement demanding the release of President William Ruto’s ardent critic, joining several other human rights organisations in condemning the arrest.

Activist Morara Kebaso. (Photo: Handout)

“We are alarmed by the arrest of Kebaso Morara. We demand his immediate and unconditional release and an end to the targeted harassment of bloggers, activists, journalists, and human rights defenders. These arrests violate the right to free expression,” noted Amnesty International.

Morara’s tour of government projects across the country has recently caught the eyes of senior government officials, including the president himself.

On August 13, Morara Kebaso announced on his X account, @MoraraKebasoSnr, his plan to embark on a countrywide tour to investigate President William Ruto’s white elephant projects.

“If you know of a project near your area that was launched by the president but it never started or stalled, comment below,” he said on his verified account on the platform.

Barely a week later, State House Spokesman Hussein Mohammed and Media Relations Director Najma Ismail tripped each other up on the same platform as they tried to correct him. As Ismail reposted her boss’ post, she appeared to be accusing him of posting lies and had to delete the post.

His interviews on Spice FM’s Situation Room and Citizen TV have not only raised awareness but also heaped pressure on the State House.

While there had been reports on social media, then picked up on mainstream media, that some of President Ruto’s projects had been launched or commissioned before or were stalled, the young lawyer’s posts offered audiovisual proof.

Morara’s approach to gathering information includes analysing the auditor-general’s and the controller of budget reports and using the president’s X account to track projects.

His combination of document analysis, social media information, and his legwork rivals the work of established media houses and embodies a new approach to public accountability.

In his work, he has found that he can imitate the President, infusing his content with familiar humour while maintaining a serious tone. Morara's critiques of the government's incompetence prompted the State House to showcase a graphic highlighting President Ruto's achievements, featuring him at the centre.

In response, Morara created his own graphic, detailing stalled and incomplete projects that he has visited despite being launched.