Kenyan police have released a veteran journalist after they “accidentally” arrested him at a police station and then dramatically forced him into a private vehicle.
Macharia Gaitho said he was followed near his home in the capital Nairobi by people in two cars, who refused to identify themselves.
He was with his son, who drove him to a nearby police station for his safety, where he was forcibly pushed into a car and driven away.
Police later said it was a case of “mistaken identity” and that they were hunting for another person they accuse of trying to discredit the police investigation into a suspected serial killer.
“The (police) wish to make it clear to the public that this morning we arrested journalist Macharia Gaitho in a case of mistake, intended for the arrest of Francis Gaitho, who is the subject of our investigation,” the statement said.
The two are not related.
In a video widely shared on social media, the journalist is seen being assaulted by uniformed officers and other people in plain clothes and forced into a white car.
It sparked angry reactions from Kenyans online, following a wave of allegations that security agents had illegally abducted people linked to recent anti-government protests.
Mr Gaitho told reporters he was “squeezed between two men in civilian clothes” in the car.
“I was handcuffed and attacked,” he said.
He said the men wanted to know why he was resisting arrest.
“I told them I was not resisting arrest, I was resisting criminals,” he said, noting that they had not identified themselves.
Later they stopped and after making some phone calls they drove him back to Kileleshwa police station where he was arrested.
The veteran journalist disputes the police statement, saying: “They were looking for me.” According to him, there was a big difference between him and the other Mr Gaitho.
“I’m twice his age. He doesn’t live where I live because they followed me from my house, as far as I know. He doesn’t drive the same car as me.”
He said he believes the “attempted kidnapping” was related to his work as a journalist.
In their statement, police said the incident was “deeply regrettable” and stressed that “we do not target journalists in any way.”
The veteran journalist is a columnist for Kenya’s largest newspaper, the Daily Nation, and often writes sharp articles criticising the government.
He has said he will sue the police over the incident.
Meanwhile, Francis Gaitho, a social media influencer who describes himself as an aspiring politician, said he is consulting with his lawyers on how to proceed.
He said he would report to the police.
Police on Monday accused him of posting the name, photo and other details of another man as a suspect in the gruesome murder of women, whose dismembered bodies were recently recovered from a former quarry turned garbage dump in Nairobi.
According to police, the “shocked young man”, whose details were reportedly shared by Francis Gaitho, turned himself in to authorities in an attempt to clear his name.
On Monday, police named Collins Jumaisi Khalusha, 33, as the alleged “serial killer” responsible for the gruesome death.
They said he had confessed to killing 42 women, but Mr Khalusha’s lawyer has since… said he was tortured into making a confession.
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