Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala was released on Tuesday following protests in Mumias Town, a day after his dramatic arrest.
Malala was freed after the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji dropped charges against him. He had been accused of violating COVID-19 rules.
“I will remain steadfast and my position will still remain that no kind of intimidation can be meted against me. People need to respect parliamentary democracy. Article 1 of the constitution is very clear on the sovereignty of the people of Kenya,” Malala said, linking his arrest to a crucial vote in the Senate that was scheduled to take place on Monday when he was arrested.
Just like other Senators like Elgeyo Marakwet’s Kipchumba Murkomen, Malala believes his arrest was aimed at intimidating him to drop his hard-line position on the county revenue formular.
Also arrested in a similar fashion was Bomet Senator Chris Lang’at and Samburu’s Steve Lelegwe who were also freed without charges.
Their arrest dominated Monday’s debate in the Senate where legislators accused the government of resorting to intimidation to force leaders to toe the line.
“The people of Kakamega delegated their sovereignty power for the Senator of Kakamega to vote in the house. And therefore, even if you arrest the Senator for Kakamega, I can tell you that in exercising Article 1 of our constitution, I will still be in that house whatever day to vote,” he said.
Earlier, there were chaos in Mumias town as protesters blocked roads and lit bonfires to demand his release.Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.
The three Senators were arrested in Nairobi on Monday morning and driven to their respective counties where they were held overnight before they were freed.
While Malala was accused of violating the social distancing rules when he distributed sanitisers, Lang’at is accused of administering an illegal oath.
Malala’s lawyer Nelson Havi described Malala’s detention as unlawful saying it was politically instigated and driven by malice.
“Of course there is malice and as we stand here, you must be aware that there is a summons from the Senate directing the Interior Cabinet Secretary and the Inspector General of Police and the Attorney General to appear tomorrow to explain why the three Senators had to be besieged in their homes and then arrested when there was an important vote in the Senate,“ he stated.
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