Kikuyu: Neighbours Defend Lady Arrested over June 25 Protests, Claim She Was at Work
- Mariam Njeri Ali was among the 25 suspects apprehended for allegedly vandalising government property in Kiambu county
- Her neighbours strongly defended her online after she was accused of setting the Kikuyu Law Courts on fire
- One neighbour shared the sequence of events that unfolded on Wednesday, June 25, in defence of the 22-year-old
Residents of Kikuyu, Kiambu county, are appealing for help to free their neighbour following her arrest.
Source: Getty Images
Mariam Njeri Ali was arrested by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in Kikuyu in connection with the nationwide protests held on Wednesday, June 25.
The 22-year-old’s arrest prompted an online appeal from neighbours calling for her release.
Was Mariam Njeri protesting on Wednesday, June 25?
They claimed she was not involved in the chaotic protests, with one person detailing what happened before her arrest:
“She’s very mature, and she can’t do things like destroying government property. We've been with her for years and have never heard of her doing such things.
"She was not demonstrating. She was arrested as she left a hotel next to where she works. We even have footage of her leaving the hotel at exactly 1.40pm, and she was arrested about 10 minutes later,” the neighbour shared.
What was Mariam Njeri accused of?
Njeri’s neighbour argued that by the time she was arrested, the law courts had not yet been set on fire.
She claimed Njeri is “100% innocent” and appealed for help, saying she was mistakenly arrested.
Njeri was accused of arson, contrary to Section 332 of the Penal Code, in relation to the Gen Z memorial protests.
Kenyans react to Mariam Njeri's neighbour's plea
The online appeal went viral, sparking mixed reactions from netizens:
Josse Ndungu:
“Your footage evidence might save her fate. Register as a witness in court... and don’t forget to request witness protection.”
Gk Prezda:
“That footage is acceptable in court to prove her whereabouts at the time of the crime. The challenge will be explaining the events after she was recorded on CCTV leaving the hotel, since the court was razed down sometime later. Hope justice prevails.”
Chebirtabe Lasoi:
“Was the hotel she was in equipped with a CCTV camera?
"If yes, then she needs a lawyer to speak to the Head of Security and retrieve the footage showing that she was there when the torching occurred elsewhere. That footage can be used in court as evidence and she will be acquitted, having no case to answer.”
Ken Jakoduol Snr:
“Let them release the footage. Peer pressure is really affecting people. I have a cousin from the village who’s normally calm, but peer pressure led him to the protests. He’s now in hospital with injuries. I told him to figure out how to pay his hospital bills — I’m not covering them.”
David Mutahi:
“I also saw another guy in a yellow hoodie being arrested at night as he was coming from work. We had boarded the same matatu and were walking in the same direction. The only difference is that I had a job ID, and he didn’t. I was spared because of my ID, but he was dragged to Kikuyu Police Station. I later heard them saying, ‘You’re the ones who set the court on fire.’ I couldn’t do much — I just had to protect myself. Most of the people on the DCI page are actually very innocent.”
Source: Facebook
Suspects accused of vandalising property arraigned in court
In a related story, the suspects accused of torching the Kikuyu Law Courts and vandalising government property were arraigned in court.
Among the government-owned assets that were destroyed were high-end cars, tuk-tuks, and tractors.
Additionally, two steel windows, a steel door, and a water tank were stolen from the county government's physical planning offices.
Proofreading by Mercy Nyambura, copy editor at TUKO.co.ke.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
