Two diehard loyalists of the opposition Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition party leader Raila Odinga have reportedly been arrested. (Read More Here).
The two, Calvin Gaucho and Nuru Okanga, who are well-known for mobilising Azimio supporters, were allegedly nabbed on Friday night by officers in a sting operation.
Confirming the arrest, lawyer Danstan Omari told Citizen Digital that the pair is currently being detained at the Kiambu Police Station. According to Omari, the two, who are members of the Azimio-allied Movement for Defense of Democracy (MDD), were initially taken to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) headquarters after being held separately at Limuru and Karuri without any specified charges being preferred against them.
Lawyer Omari claimed that Gaucho and Okanga were being held for allegedly participating in Azimio’s Monday protests.
“One of them was taken to Limuru and the other to Karuri in Kiambu County. They have been brought to DCI offices in Mazingira House,” he said.
MDD demanded an immediate release of the two, noting that police were infringing on their rights without outlining possible charges.
"The two were arrested on Friday, March 24, by Nairobi police officers," a member of MDD explained. The youthful members of MDD also noted that Gaucho was being held at Limuru Police Station in Kiambu County without any charges preferred against him.
MDD also revealed that Okanga had been placed under the custody of police officers at Karuri Police Station, also in Kiambu County.
"We are going to those police stations to demand an immediate release of both of them," an MDD member declared during a press conference.
The MDD officials also stated that they were equally ready to be arrested together with their colleagues. You should expand the space in the holding cells in order to accommodate all of us because we are going to those police stations," MDD noted.
The Azimio la Umoja youth claimed that police were acting on a pure witchhunt since both Gaucho and Okanga had not committed any known criminal offence.
Gaucho is the Bunge La Mwananchi President while Nuru Okanga is a popular protester who frequented Azimio La Umoja rallies. ODM Party Leader Raila Odinga on Wednesday, March 22, announced that Azimio la Umoja Coalition would hold bi-weekly protests on Mondays and Thursdays.
However, the National Police Service is yet to release a statement on the arrest of Gaucho and Okanga who are believed to be key players in the Azimio la Umoja demonstrations.
At the same time, Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Communication Director Philip Etale did not respond to questions on the same matter.
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