The Directorate of Criminal Investigations has confirmed that Kirinyaga-based blogger Justin Kinyua Mwangi is in police custody, ending hours of uncertainty after opposition politicians claimed he had been abducted by unidentified men.
The agency said its detectives arrested Mwangi in Wanguru Town, Mwea, on Tuesday, August 4, over social media posts it alleges amounted to hate speech and ethnic contempt.
In a statement, the DCI said: “Detectives from DCI Headquarters have arrested Justin Kinyua Mwangi for publishing social media content amounting to hate speech and ethnic contempt.”
According to the agency, Mwangi will face charges under Sections 13 and 62 of the National Cohesion and Integration Act. Section 13 criminalises hate speech, while Section 62 addresses offences related to ethnic contempt. The DCI said he was expected to be arraigned in court on Wednesday.
Mwangi, who describes himself on Facebook as a political storyteller and digital strategist, runs the Facebook page Justin Kinyua. He is also associated with the Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP), led by former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
Before the DCI’s statement, opposition leaders had raised alarm over what they believed was an abduction.
Kirinyaga Woman Representative Njeri Maina said she had received reports that Mwangi had been seized by hooded men and taken to an unknown destination. She said she was working with Kirinyaga Senator Kamau Murango and MP David Mathenge to establish his whereabouts.
“Justin Kinyua has been abducted by hooded gunmen and is being driven to an unknown destination as we speak. The era of political intimidation is here with us, but we shall not relent!” Maina wrote on X.
She added that the opposition would continue defending constitutional rights, including freedom of expression and political association.
“We shall stand by the Constitution and the young people of this great nation, whose right to free speech and political affiliation is protected by the Constitution,” she said.
Murango also criticised what he described as growing political persecution of young people with differing political views.
“Political persecution of young people must stop!” he said, arguing that the incident reflected broader concerns about the treatment of critics of the government.
The DCI’s account differed sharply from those claims. The agency said Mwangi had not disappeared but had been lawfully arrested by detectives investigating his online activity.
The confirmation has shifted attention from allegations of an enforced disappearance to the legal case the blogger now faces. As he prepares to appear in court, the proceedings are likely to draw renewed scrutiny over the balance between enforcing laws against hate speech and protecting constitutional guarantees of free expression.
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