Eight people arrested following an attack during a church service attended by Siaya Governor James Orengo have been released after a court rejected a prosecution application to detain them longer to allow further investigations.
Speaking outside the Kisumu Law Courts after the ruling, Orengo, former Lawyer Society (LSK) Faith Odhiambo and Embakasi East MP Babu Owino welcomed the decision, saying those arrested were innocent and had been wrongly linked to the violence.
Orengo said the defence team included former Law Society of Kenya President Faith Odhiambo, lawyer Samuel Nyauke and Owino.
“I want today to thank the court for giving an order whose effect was the release of these innocent Kenyans, eight of them,” Orengo said.
He said all eight had been inside the church during the attack and were not involved in violence outside. Orengo said some of those arrested were targeted because of the clothing they wore after leaving the service.
He cited the case of a man who, he said, was arrested while travelling to hospital to visit his wife because he was wearing a T-shirt bearing the words “Warembo na Orengo”.
He added that others had also been detained while wearing political T-shirts. Orengo called on police to arrest those responsible for the attack on the church.
“We call upon the police to arrest the true perpetrators of the crime that happened when we were at the church, and they should be made to answer,” he said.
He also called for accountability from the Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja and Interior Principal Secretary Dr Raymond Omollo, alleging that organised groups had been mobilised in Kisumu.
Orengo further criticised President William Ruto’s administration, accusing it of overseeing extrajudicial killings and arbitrary arrests.
“The extrajudicial killing, arbitrary arrests are happening under Ruto’s watch, so he is the one to take responsibility,” he said.
Odhiambo said prosecutors had initially sought to detain the suspects for an additional 15 days while investigating a murder case but had failed to provide evidence to justify the request.
She said the prosecution later sought to continue holding the suspects while pursuing alternative charges, including malicious damage to property and preparation to commit a felony.
“Today, they also purported to ask that they be held further, that different charges would be preferred for malicious damage of property and preparing to commit a felony, with the aim of ensuring the courts hold them further,” she said.
Odhiambo said the defence opposed the application and the court ordered the suspects released.
She said courts should not be used to keep innocent people in custody while investigations continue.
“We shall not allow our courts to be used as a means of frustrating Kenyans into the criminal justice system,” she said.
Odhiambo urged the judiciary to uphold equal treatment before the law and thanked the judicial officer who handled the case, saying she had demonstrated professionalism, integrity and independence.
Addressing young people, she urged them not to lose hope.
“Do not despair. We shall be there with you. We will come and protect you and defend you in whatever court you will be taken to,” she said.
Owino said the legal team had represented what he described as innocent churchgoers arrested after the incident at St. Stephen’s ACK Church in Milimani, Kisumu.
He welcomed the ruling, saying the court had rejected the prosecution’s application.
“The court has freed the eight innocent Kenyans. The file has been closed. No charge should be pressed against them,” he said.
Owino said the defence had relied on constitutional protections, including the rights to bail, liberty and a fair trial, as well as the presumption of innocence.
He questioned why investigators had sought an identification parade after alleging the suspects had been arrested in possession of weapons.
“If somebody is arrested red handed, that person should not be subjected to an ID parade, according to the allegation,” he said.
Owino accused investigators of misusing the justice system and said the defence would continue challenging what he described as unlawful arrests.
He also alleged that some police officers had been involved in unlawful abductions and should be held accountable.
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