By Thursday 22nd January 2016, the pressure against Flying Squad officers who had illegally held Cyprian Nyakundi reached fever-pitch and the Police crack-unit, famous for extra judicial killings and planting evidence on crime scenes, was finding it untennable to keep Nyakundi any longer.
Micro-bloggers using the hashtag #FreeNyakundi connected the dots between the missing blogger Bogonko Bosire and Dennis Itumbi’s suspicious interest in the matter, while others castigated the National Police Service for expending resources and energy in the wrong areas, linking it to rising crime levels and the death of multi-billion tourism industry due to insecurity.
The State-House head of communication Dennis Itumbi was asked to declare his interest, as it was no coincidence that on Monday 19th January, StateHouse bloggers working under the auspices of PSCU led by Brian Khaniri had launched a hashtag #NyakundiExposed, a collaborative venture with gossip blog GhaflaKenya.
And while blogger Cyprian Nyakundi has opted to focus on matters of National Interest, it still remains unclear why StateHouse bloggers opted to launch this assault using a gossip blog that has of late come under scrutiny for propagating moral decadence, indencency and mainstreaming commercial sex-workers into everyday life.
Dennis Itumbi had posted a series of tweets in the form of a lecture, purporting to advise bloggers on Web etiquette, a move that was met with resistance as he was under fire to declare if he knew the whereabouts of Bogonko Bosire who vanished without a trace over three years ago.
Student leaders led by SONU Chairman Babu Owino tweeted their intent to hold demonstrations and paralyse traffic in the city streets if the Flying Squad did not release Cyprian Nyakundi with immediate effect.
The success of any revolution is determined by the trigger-mechanism and while Kenya is ripe for an Arab-Spring due to the many educated but jobless youths, whose opportunities are diminishing due to the wanton corruption and misappropriation of public funds, there still hasn’t been a proper spark to light the fire as yet.
It was a view held by University student-leaders that Cyprian Nyakundi’s constant harassment at the hands of the police is indicative of the contempt at which the political class of Kenya, view the youth in Kenya, leaving them balkanized and disenfranchised.
By 3pm after Flying Squad Corporal Moses Gituathi filed his affidavit at the Milimani Magistrates Court, Criminal Application No. 132, quoting a tweet and a twitter handle as the electronic devices that were misused by Cyprian Nyakundi, the Director of Public Prosecutions withdrew the case and ordered for the immediate release of the blogger, until he issues further directions on the matter.
Tweeters drew parallels between Cyprian Nyakundi and Jacob Juma who has never been harassed or arrested because of his age and/or position in society, despite the fact that he has been in the forefront, fighting corruption and exposing fraud in Government, especially targetting the Deputy President William Ruto.
Which can only mean that the law was being applied selectively and that in Kenya, some animals are more equal than others.
The time for youth in Kenya to arise and assume their role in shaping Kenya’s future has come. The old men running various institutions can sense the threat and are using all means at their disposal to kill our job opportunities and stifle our views.
Stay tuned for an even more interesting Part-4.
