Meru Senator Mithika Linturi has sued the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) after the court set him free and dismissed the various applications by detectives who sought to investigate him for remarks bordering on incitement.
On Tuesday, March 1, Senator Linturi filed a suit at the High Court seeking to get Ksh10 million compensation from the state.
The Senator, in court documents, indicated that the money would account for damages for unwarranted imprisonment and violation of his freedom and rights during detention.
Linturi alleged that his rights were infringed by state agencies after he was accused of making remarks bordering on hate speech and incitement at an Eldoret rally organized by Deputy President William Ruto.
On Monday, February 28, Chief Magistrate Edna Nyaloti stopped the probe and ordered the Office of the DPP to close the case.
Notably, the DCI had asked the court to grant more time to investigate Linturi over the alleged incident.
“The miscellaneous file is marked as withdrawn as the prosecution has failed to prefer any charges against the suspect within the time allocated by the court,” the magistrate ruled.
The Senator was arrested following outrage from the public who demanded the DCI and the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) to act.
His utterances drew sharp criticism from the various political leaders and Kenyans who pointed out that the remarks could divide the nation ahead of the 2022 General Election.
Among the leaders was Chama Cha Kazi (CCK) leader Moses Kuria who advised Ruto to ask his allies to avoid making reckless statements.
“If you are near Eldoret, tell him (the DP) to rebuke his allies. It doesn’t matter whether these remarks were said by Linturi or Oscar Sudi (Kapseret MP),” he wrote on his social media
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