Senator allied to Deputy President William Ruto wants Parliament to amend laws related to criminal offences to stop the arrest of suspects on Fridays.
This comes after the controversial arrest of Turkish investor, Harun Aydin, close ally of Ruto, who was arrested on Saturday after jetting back from Uganda,
Leading the discussion, Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen, wants the Friday arrest, commonly known as Kamata Kamata Fridays, be amended and parliament to come up with a legal frame work that stops it.
“We should come up with a legal framework that stops Friday arrests, unless you are being arrested for an offence you committed that particular day and there is the possibility that you will be committing more offences if you are left until Monday,” he said.
According to him, the country’s criminal justice system has been extremely abused and some of the courts give ridiculous bail terms.
“How can you give someone a bail of Sh100 million, Sh70 million, Sh50 million or Sh12 million?“ It is enough for them to deposit their passport and confirm that they will appear in court at a particular time” he said.
According to him, the arrest amounts to violations of human rights and take the country back to the days when suspects were arrested and detained without trial.
“In the last two years, we have witnessed abuse of the criminal justice process to arrest and punish people in the interim. Since you know that they will not be found culpable, the easiest way to punish your enemies is to arrest them on a Friday,” he said.
Kericho Senator Aaron Cheruiyot backed Murkomen warning that if not checked, Kamata Kamata Fridays will become the norm of the police officers.
He wants Parliament to pass legislation that stipulates the procedure and the minimum amount that can be set as bail.
“I once heard a magistrate telling some of our colleagues who are lawyers that it is the lawmakers who should make the bail limits clear in law for it not to punish people,” he said.
However, Senate Minority leader James Orengo told the lawmakers off the senators stating that they should be blamed for the Bill because of the positions they took when the House was discussing the Security Laws (Amendment) Bill which is making it possible for the police to do the arrests now.
“You remember that we went to court to challenge the Security Laws (Amendment) Bill, which he (Murkomen) supported. If this law is affecting him now, he should not blame others. He is finding himself in a terrible situation out of his own conduct,” he said.
Mathira Member of Parliament Rigathi Gachagua allied to Ruto was arrested on a Friday and brought before court on a Monday, where he was granted a cash bail of Sh12 million with an alternative Sh25 million bond in a graft case.
Murkomen claimed that the state investigated Gachagua for two years and arrested him on a Friday before charging him.