The High Court has granted lawyer Shadrack Wambui anticipatory bail following fears of his arrest over the June 25th protests in Rongai, Kajiado County.
Justice Diana Kavedza granted Wambui an anticipatory of Sh 100,000, stating that his constitutional rights must be protected during ongoing investigations.
Wambui who also serves as the Chairperson of Sheria mtaani na Shadrack Wambui moved to court on Friday 27th June 2025 seeking orders stopping the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) from arresting or intimidating him.
Through lawyer Danstan Omari, the court heard that Wambui is an unapologetic social justice crusader and civic activist.
“In the lawful exercise of his constitutional rights under Articles 37 and 33 of the Constitution, the applicant formally notified the respondents of his intention to organize and lead a peaceful demonstration on 25th June 2025 within Ongata Rongai, Kajiado North Constituency — a protest convened to ventilate legitimate public grievances,” Omari said.
According to court documents, on the appointed date, the demonstration commenced peacefully, lawfully, and without incident.
However, he said, midway through the exercise, a group of hired goons — acting on instructions from unnamed political quarters — violently infiltrated the assembly.
These thugs unleashed calculated mayhem, disrupted the otherwise lawful protest, and made several violent attempts on the applicant, including an incident where he narrowly escaped a stabbing.
“It became apparent that the coordinated attack aimed not only to silence dissent but to physically harm the applicant and dispossess him of his belongings, being perceived as the symbolic leader of the protests,” Omari added.
It is further alleged that following the orchestrated violence, the unarmed protestors dispersed, and the applicant prudently withdrew to avoid further confrontation.
Further, in a deeply troubling turn of events, the area Member of Parliament subsequently issued a public statement via his official social media platforms, alleging knowledge of those behind the protest chaos, cryptically suggesting that the financier hailed from Mathare.
“The Member of Parliament simultaneously called upon the respondents to take immediate punitive action — a clear and ominous dog whistle aimed at the applicant,” the applicant submitted.
Omari said that the long and publicly documented association with Mathare is a matter of public record. “Born, bred, and indelibly tied to Mathare’s social struggles, he has consistently fought for the economic and social emancipation of its residents through multiple public interest suits and civic causes.”
In response to the reckless and inflammatory remarks by the said Member of Parliament, Sheria Mtaani na Shadrack Wambui publicly demanded that the legislator either substantiate his claims by officially naming those he alleges were behind the chaos — or cease weaponizing innuendo and insinuation against citizens lawfully exercising their constitutional freedoms. To date, no such formal disclosure has been made.
The applicant states that it is equally a matter of public notoriety that the said Member of Parliament has, on multiple occasions, openly threatened to crush demonstrations within his constituency, often warning of dire consequences for protestors.
“Notably, all peaceful protests organized within Kajiado North in recent years have been disrupted by suspiciously well-organized and coordinated gangs, invariably aligned with vested political interests,” the applicant added.
In a development that bears all the hallmarks of political persecution, the applicant has now been summoned by the respondents to appear before the DCI offices in Ongata Rongai — purportedly for questioning.
The applicant further states that he harbors well-grounded apprehension, based on credible information and prevailing political realities, that the real intent is to orchestrate his arrest, particularly on a Friday, as part of the notorious and discredited practice infamously known as “Kamata Kamata Fridays” — a relic of authoritarian regimes where dissenters would be arrested late on Fridays and detained over the weekend to silence and punish them extrajudicially.
While the applicant remains a staunch believer in the rule of law and is fully prepared to submit himself to lawful due process, he resists and decries the evident attempt to misuse state security apparatus to intimidate, harass, and persecute him for engaging in lawful, constitutionally protected activities.
Wambui’s Sheria mtaani organization is a duly registered public benefit organization renowned for its strategic public interest litigation, civic education initiatives, and unyielding advocacy for the marginalized and vulnerable members of society.
