Ruth Njeri, after spending over 72 hours locked up at Pangani Police Station
NAIROBI. In what can only be described as the most dramatic episode of “Law & Order: Nairobi Cyber Unit,” activist and code-slinger Ruth Njeri has been released on a personal bond of Ksh 100,000 after spending over 72 hours locked up at Pangani Police Station, reportedly with only tea, tears, and tweets for company.
Her crime? Allegedly giving the government a cyber-induced migraine by building a rogue website that allowed everyday Kenyans to shout “HELL NO!” to the 2025 Finance Bill from the comfort of their smartphones. Enabling citizens to express constitutional opinions online is now considered “unauthorised interference with computer systems.” (You can’t make this stuff up.)
Her weekend arrest lit up social media faster than a bundle of Safaricom airtime. By Monday, politicians, civil society watchdogs, and even the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) lined up at Pangani like it was the premiere of Avengers: Endgame. LSK President Faith Odhiambo didn’t mince words, calling the shady detention “a legal circus wrapped in opacity.”
But the plot thickened Tuesday morning when Ruth was finally frog-marched to court, flanked by a legal dream team so elite, Netflix might option it as a courtroom drama. Leading the charge? None other than former Chief Justice David Maraga, looking like he’d just come back from retirement for one last case.
Outside the courtroom, chants of “Free the WiFi Warrior!” could be heard as activists waved cardboard keyboards and imaginary firewalls.
Now out on bond and possibly plotting her next software-powered revolution, Rose Njeri awaits her hearing on June 20 unless the government updates its firewall settings before then.