31 May Kongamano La Mapinduzi Statement On The Unlawful Arrest And Detention Of Comrade Rose Njeri
Nairobi, 31st May 2025, Kongamano La Mapinduzi (KLM) condemns in the strongest terms the unlawful arrest, incommunicado detention, and clear targeting of software developer and social justice champion Rose Njeri. Her abduction by state forces on 30th May 2025 marks yet another shameful milestone in the Ruto regime’s authoritarian crackdown on dissent and youth-led activism.
Rose Njeri is not a criminal. She is a respected member of Kenya’s tech ecosystem and a courageous voice in the fight for justice, equality, and good governance. She stood with millions of GenZ in the historic 2024 street protests against the punitive Finance Bill, an uprising that exposed the moral bankruptcy of this regime. Her arrest is politically motivated, intended to silence those who dare to speak truth to power.
Comrade Rose Njeri was accosted and taken by an entourage of approximately 15 armed police officers along Enterprise Road after attending a training with a tech incubator. No reasons were given for her arrest, no charges read, violating Article 49 of Kenya’s 2010 Constitution, which guarantees arrested persons the right to be informed promptly of the reason for their arrest.
In a traumatizing show of force, the police coerced her into leading them to her residence, where they illegally gained access to her home and seized personal gadgets – laptops, flash disks, and more. No court order or search warrant was presented. This was a blatant breach of Rose’s constitutional protections under Article 31 (right to privacy) and Article 50 (right to fair trial).
She was then driven around Nairobi for hours before being taken to DCI Headquarters, where she was interrogated by three officers (Zainab, Mustafa, and an unnamed third officer) without access to legal representation. She was forced to record a statement, despite explicitly asking for her lawyer, a violation of both constitutional and international human rights law.
During the interrogation, officers questioned her about her involvement in two digital platforms:
🔹 civicemail.netlify.app
🔹 Ruto Filter Chrome Extension
This points to a state-sponsored campaign to intimidate civic-tech developers who are empowering citizens to think critically and organize against repression.
As of this statement, Comrade Rose Njeri remains unlawfully detained at Pangani Police Station, held past the constitutional limit of 24 hours without being presented in court.
The police have refused to grant her bail, provide full access to legal counsel, or offer any justification for her continued detention without trial. This arrest is not isolated. It is emblematic of the political rot and instability at the heart of the Ruto regime. It signals the total collapse of legitimacy and the rise of an increasingly violent police state.
Let it be known, that the arrest of Comrade Rose Njeri might as well be the spark that will reignite the GenZ movement. The same GenZs who flooded the streets in 2024, must prepare to reclaim our streets once more, in mobilizing around #RejectFinanceBill2025. Her detention comes at the eve of the month of the 2024 occupation of Parliament. Let this year’s resistance go further and deeper, perhaps this time, the House itself might be a better challenge.
Her arrest is a call to all justice and human rights civil society organizations: remove the kid gloves. Match the energy and courage of the Law Society of Kenya. We salute LSK and urge others to follow suit. It is a call to veteran activists, student leaders, grassroots organizers, and trade unionists, this is your moment to take up your positions. It is a call to Kenya’s tech community, if you remain quiet while one of your own is kidnapped and interrogated for building civic tools, you embolden them for your own persecution. Kenya’s famed Silicon Savannah is under siege by a despot.
We demand the immediate and unconditional release of Rose Njeri.
We demand accountability from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, the National Police Service, and the office of the Inspector General.
We remind the Ruto regime that no dictatorship has outlived the resistance of a determined people.
Issued by:
Kongamano La Mapinduzi (KLM)
#FreeRoseNjeri | #MapiduziKE | #BungeMustGo | #GenZRevolution