Anger after Rose Njeri arrest over anti-Finance Bill 2025 website

35-year-old Rose Njeri who was arrested for creating an anti-Finance Bill 2025 website allowing Kenyans to submit their views on the bill. [Collins Oduor, Standard] Police on Friday arrested a digital marketer for creating a website that allowed citizens to submit their objections to the Finance Bill, 2025. By last evening, Rose Njeri, the 38-year-old, was still held at the Pangani Police Station, invoking memories of last year's crackdown meted out on dissenters to the Finance Bill. The arrest of Njeri, coming just days before June 25, the first anniversary of the dreaded RejectFinanceBill2024, or Gen Z protests that led to the deaths of about 65 Kenyans and the maiming of several others, puts the government on the spot. Njeri employed her skills to create a web portal that would enable Kenyans to submit their views on the Finance Bill, 2025. On the portal, Njeri pinpointed what she thinks are the thorny issues on the website and invited Kenyans to do the same, giving them the option of adding more issues that they deem problematic in the Bill. Through the website, Kenyans can then submit their views on the Bill to the Clerk of National Assembly, and Parliament's Committee on Finance and Planning. It emerged that officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) tracked and arrested Njeri on Friday afternoon at the South B area, escorted her to her house and confiscated some of her gadgets. Efforts to get a comment from DCI director Mohamed Amin were futile. Phone calls and short text messages to his mobile phone were not answered. As President William Ruto rallies Kenyans to celebrate the 62nd Madaraka Day in Homa Bay, there is no freedom for Njeri as she will be spending the weekend at Pangani police station. On Saturday, Njeri's family and human rights activists spent the day at the police station and DCI headquarters seeking her release on police bail even as top detectives evaded those pursuing the case. Njeri's Aunt, Eve Waithera, said she has been taking care of her in the city since her parents are based in Nyeri. Waithera said the arrest shocked them, adding that Njeri has been unwell for a while now. "I have spoken to her several times in the police cells and she told me that she is unwell because she is anaemic and the conditions in the police cells have made it worse," Waithera told The Sunday Standard. "Our plea is that she be released because what she committed is just airing her views but she does not have a huge following online, only that she posted something to do with the Finance Bill," she said. Derrick Kamotho, Njeri's cousin said the arrest was abrupt adding that due to her condition, they have been forced to hang around the station just in case she needs anything for her medication. "She was arrested within South B in the late afternoon hours and it is sad that we have not been told anything about her release on police bail," said Kamotho. Sam Ogolla, an advocate who was accompanying the family in push for Njeri's release, said their efforts were futile at the station since she was booked by instructions from the DCI. "DCI officers have refused to pick our calls, but anyone arrested has a constitutional right to be granted police bail and when we asked about, we were told it will not be granted we feel that as arbitrary and infringement of her rights," said Ogolla. Adding that, "If she continues to be in the station with her condition, then her health could be in jeopardy." Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President Faith Odhiambo said the DCI officers picked Njeri on Friday afternoon and did not allow her to access the legal team. "At around 8pm, after extensive efforts to find out where she was being held, we received information that she was being held at Pangani Police Station," Odhiambo said. Adding that, "However, all efforts to secure her release on police bail have so far been frustrated by the officers in charge who are yet to cede to requests by counsel to release her." On May 19, Njeri, a Bachelor of Commerce graduate, through her X account posted about her platform that has now been linked to the arrest. "Hi #KOT #KenyansOnTwitter, I wrote a simple program that lets you reject the Finance Bill 2025 with just one click. Click below to send your objection: https://civicemail.netlify.app #RejectFinanceBill2025," she posted. The links gives the users two options: to either send their objections to Finance Bill, 2025 to the Clerk of the National Assembly or to the Finance Committee. LSK advocate Ian Mutiso, speaking at Pangani police station, said Njeri was arrested by a group of officers from DCI around 2pm on Friday at Nairobi's South B area, while running her errands. Mutiso said that Njeri was then taken to DCI headquarters for interrogation until 4pm, when she was taken to Pangani police station. "She was questioned in relation to a site that she designed about Finance Bill and another link touching on the nicknames that President Ruto has been given. She was then detained at Pangani police station," said Mutiso. While condemning the police acts, Mutiso said that the detectives at some point took Njeri to her house without any warrants, where they carried out a search and took some of her gadgets. Njeri's arrest comes barely one month after four filmmakers were arrested similarly, in connection with the BBC's documentary Blood Parliament. The documentary, produced by the BBC, exposed the excessive use of force by police on Gen Z protestors during the demonstrations against the controversial Finance Bill on June 25 2024. Nicholas Wambugu, Brian Adagala, Chris Wamae, and MarkDenver Karubiu were arrested the evening of May 2, 2025 at their office in Karen, Nairobi, and detained at Pangani and Muthaiga police stations. The arrests provoked public outrage, particularly on social media. In the film, the producers also exposed the officers believed to have fatally shot some protestors outside the national assembly, through piecing up of several videos and images from various media outlets and other sources. Amnesty International Kenya also called for Njeri's release, noting that her action of asking Kenyans to submit memos that call for changes to the 2025 Finance Bill is not an offence. "Her arrest, confiscation of gadgets, continued detention and denial of bail violates her constitutional rights, undermines public participation and makes mockery of any attempt to put 2024 behind," Irungu Houghton shared. Activist Boniface Mwangi said Njeri's arrest is an attempt by President Ruto to silence those who could oppose Finance Bill 2025, adding that the Head of State has already weaponised the DCI. "This is hypocrisy of the highest order by the President who goes to prayer breakfast then the day after we see the arrest of a young lady," Mwangi said. "This is just scare tactic. In fact what she did was just educating Kenyans but from out end we are preparing to reject Finance Bill 2025," Mwangi said. Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah appealed for Kenyans to push for the release of Njeri in a message posted through X. "Type Free Rose Njeri, No to Wantam and Notam #FreeRoseNjeri #RejectFinanceBill2025 in your mother tongue," shared Omtatah.

Anger after Rose Njeri arrest over anti-Finance Bill 2025 website

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