NAIROBI, Kenya – Vocal Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah is among the protesters arrested in the Nairobi Central District (CBD).
Omtatah on Monday joined the protestors in Nairobi, demanding an end to ongoing abductions targeting government critics.
In a video that has gone viral, Omtatah is seen sitting inside a police cell at Central Police Station.
He was spotted alongside other arrested protesters singing defiance songs.
How Okiya Omtatah and others were arrested
Some of those arrested alongside Omtatah regretted why they failed to chain on each other during the arrest.
The anti-riot officers rounded the group, which had lain down, and bundled them into police vehicles amid a heavy cloud of tear gas before driving them away.
There was a brief altercation after police officers stormed the cell where the arrested protesters were detained and whisked away one of them.
“You cannot mutilate the constitution and then claim you are working. We were peaceful; we were not armed; we were not dragging anyone,” Omtatah fearlessly told the heavily armed officers.
What Okiya Omtatah told his accomplices
Omtatah demanded that the officers who had stormed his police cell should immediately bring back the detainee who had been whisked away.
“If you are whisked away from this cell, don’t give out your data, including your name and your national ID card,” Omtatah told his fellow detainees.
He vowed that they would not cooperate with the security officers because they were violating the constitution by arresting them.
“We are not safe here; we are safe in the streets,” Omtatah told the officers before the group broke into the national anthem.
The protesters occupied the Nairobi CBD early on December 30, 2024, demanding the release of seven documented missing persons.
Why Okiya Omtatah was at the High Court
Before the demonstrations, Omtatah had filed a case in the High Court to force the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), the Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI), and Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja to appear in court and produce seven young people who had been kidnapped by people posing as police officers.
Omtatah stated, “The government is the only entity capable of disciplining those who have been criticising it.”
He demanded the resignation of the head of NIS, the IG, the DCI, and the DPP if they were unaware of the abductions.
Omtatah continued, “Because this demonstrates that they cannot carry out the responsibilities for which Kenyans have appointed and retained them in office.”
Omtatah has formed an exploratory committee to begin his presidential campaign supporting his candidacy for the 2027 election. He intends to run against the president, William Ruto.
