Veteran journalist Macharia Gaitho has broken his silence following a dramatic arrest by police officers who forcefully bundled him into a car before releasing him at Karen police station.
Gaitho was on Wednesday, July 17, 2024, driving in his vehicle alongside his son who recorded the harassment and subsequent arrest of the journalist.
While speaking outside the Karen Police Station moments after his release, the journalist explained the ordeal that led to his arrest.
Gaitho explained that the unidentified men driving in two cars had trailed him from his home which made him drive inside the Police Station.
At the Police Station, the journalist narrated, the two cars also drove inside before the officers got hold of him and forced him inside one of the cars, a Toyota Probox model car.
He further said that upon being bundled into the car, he was sandwiched between two of the officers who were in civilian clothes before they questioned why he was resisting arrest.
Also Read: National Police Clarifies Arrest of Macharia Gaitho
“We went to Karen Police Station to look for help, we drove right into the station, but those two cars followed us, and they forced me inside their car, a white Probox.
I was sandwiched between two men in civilian clothes, handcuffed and assaulted. They were demanding to know why I was resisting arrest. I explained to them that I was not resisting arrest, but I was resisting criminals.
I don’t know who you are. You have not identified yourself and up to now as long as I am concerned you are criminals,” he said.
Macharia Gaitho Narrates Ordeal
Gaitho added that he was driven down along Lang’ata Road before the man stopped after some minutes, made a few calls and after some long conversations they decided to turn back and went back near the police station where he was arrested.
“That is the time they asked for my Identity Card which I gave it to them. They looked at it and asked if I was Francis Macharia Gaitho I said Yes.
One guy got out made some phone calls came back again asked for my phone number which I refused to give it to him,” added Gaitho.
Also Read: Veteran Journalist Macharia Gaitho Abducted by Police
The journalist then went ahead to add that after another lengthy conversation, one of the officers was instructed to remove handcuffs off his hands before they informed him that it was a case of mistaken identity and freed him.
Mistaken Identity
However, the journalist raised concerns on why the authorities did not explain the case being a mistaken identity based on the fact that they trailed him from his home.
“They didn’t explain how it could be a case of mistaken identity. They could not explain how they could trail me right from my home or near my home. In my opinion, they were criminals.
They brought me back to Karen Police Station from where they had abducted me in the first place, and they went away. I have reported an attempted abduction at Karen Police Station,” he said.
Further, the journalist lamented that it was extremely traumatic to be abducted by unidentified individuals, saying that this was his first time to undergo such an ordeal.
Gaitho said that he has had his share of problems with law enforcers in the past but noted that whenever he was summoned by Police, he always presented himself.
“We cannot allow our country to go back to an era dictatorship, rogue cops and a police state. I’ve had my share of problems with law enforcers, but in the past, when the police wanted to talk to me, they called me and asked whatever questions they wanted. I have never gone through abduction or kidnapping by people who I am not sure if they are terrorists,” said Gaitho.
The National Police Service issued a statement clarifying that the arrest was a case of mistaken identity.
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