Matiang’i pardons man who ‘threatened’ to kill him
A man who was arrested, charged, and detained for five months for reportedly threatening to kill Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr. Fred Matiang’i has been acquitted by a Kiambu Law Court.
Mr Owiti Owayo, an aspirant for the Kibra parliamentary seat was arrested on August 17, 2021, after he reportedly made a post threatening to end the life of a high-ranking politician.
But he breathed a sigh of relief after magistrate Millicent Ominde threw the case out of court after the complaint was withdrawn.
“I’m glad to hear that the case had been withdrawn,” he said.
Documents in our possession show Mr Owayo had earlier been temporarily released on a Sh100,000 cash bail.
“Was charged with the offence of threatening to kill and after an inquiry was asked to appear before the Judge Magistrate at the Kiambu Law Courts,” the document read in part.
He was further directed to attend court sessions until advised otherwise.
Mr Owayo was arrested on the same day he was supposed to lead a public talk at Deputy President William Ruto’s home in Karen, Nairobi County.
He says officers attached to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) raided his home and confiscated his mobile phone and laptop.
“They raided my house located in Woodley Estate in Kibra and also made away with my wife’s phone before they took me to DCI headquarters,” he told Nairobi News.
He says he was grilled for hours before being taken to the court the following morning.
The court then released him on a Sh100,000 cash bail.
He failed to pay the cash bail and was transferred to Industrial Area Prisons, and then Kiambu Prisons.